The difficult two-game ACC stretch is over for the Demon Deacons and they will enter the bye week 2-4.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-4,0-2) had a strong start and went up 3-0, but ultimately Florida State's (5-0, 3-0) talent was just too much to overcome and the Seminoles defeated the Demon Deacons 43-3.
1st Quarter
Wake Forest started the game by receiving the ball. The Wake Forest offense surprisingly generated two first down on the first drive - one by air and one by penalty. Alex #KinalKount Kinal had an excellent punt. Florida State started with a strong drive with a run from Karlos Williams, but Jameis Winston was intercepted by Bud Noel, who returned inside Florida State territory. The Wake Forest offense was able to get inside the 20 yard line, but quarterback John Wolford fumbled the ball on third down.
Florida State responded by getting a first down, only for Wake Forest's Brandon Chubb to recover a fumble around the Florida State 40 yard line. Wake Forest capitalized on this turnover, however. After converting a critical third-down on a screen pass to Brandon Terry, Mike Weaver drained a 36-yard field goal. The Deacons took a 3-0 lead into the 2nd quarter.
2nd Quarter
With 11:49 remaining in the 2nd quarter, kicker Robert Aguayo made a 43-yarder to tie the game at 3. His only missed kick in his career was a miss in last year's Wake Forest game.
After trading punts, Florida State capped of a 6-play 50 yard drive with a 2 yard touchdown run by Jameis Winston. Florida State stopped Wake after 3 downs, and got the ball on Wake Forest's 40 yard line with 32 seconds remaining. Kermit Whitfield dropped a wide-open touchdown reception on 3rd and 10, but Robert Aguayo connected on a 40 yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining in the half.
3rd Quarter
The Noles came out at halftime and had an 8-play 33 yard drive that resulted in a 52-yard field goal from Robert Aguayo. Florida State capitalized off a very poor throw from John Wolford and Mario Pender scored a 3-yard touchdown run to take a 23-3 lead with 5:10 remaining in the 3rd quarter. 15 game seconds later, Reggie Northrup recovered an Isaiah Robinson fumble and returned it for a touchdown to extend their lead to 30-3.
4th Quarter
Ryan Janvion started off the 4th quarter by doing an incredible job of breaking up at attempted Winston touchdown pass. Naturally Robert Aguayo drilled a 42 yard field goal. After another Wake Forest punt, Jameis Winston connected on a 59 yard touchdown pass to 5-star freshman Travis Rudolph to make it 40-3. Florida State backup quarterback Sean Maguire led a 5-play 59 yard drive that resulted in ANOTHER Robert Aguayo field goal. That guy simply is not human. Backup Dez Wortham had a very good 4th quarter for Wake Forest and carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards. His carries should be tracked moving forward. Punter Alex Kinal also broke the school's punting record, and now has 221 career punts. That's a record that won't be broken for quite some time.
Wake Forest finished with 126 yards, while Florida State finished with 476.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will now have a much-needed bye week before hosting Syracuse on October 18th. In my opinion, Syracuse is Wake's best chance at an ACC win. Please continue to check out Blogger So Dear for more analysis of this game, as well as a look ahead to Wake's upcoming game against Syracuse.
