The Deacs moved to 3-0, but not without a notable injury.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the Delaware Blue Hens 38-21, but the real story tonight was Kendall Hinton, who left in the 1st quarter with a non-contact injury, and did not return to action. He officially has a “knee sprain,” but more information regarding a timeline and a diagnosis should come out in the coming days.
Wake Forest got off to a perfect start, as they forced a three-and-out on defense, and then Kendall Hinton led a touchdown drive to put the Deacs up 7-0. Bad news came for Wake Forest with 4 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter when Kendall Hinton pulled up on a quarterback keeper and went to the ground. He was on the ground for some time, but ultimately was able to walk very gingerly off the field.
Wake Forest dominated the first half of action in terms of total yardage, but only found themselves up 24-14. This is because Wake Forest had two costly turnovers inside of its own 20 yard line. One was a bad interception from John Wolford, and another was a fumble by Tyler Bell. I think there’s an argument to be made that he was already down, but oh well. Credit to Delaware for capitalizing on both of those opportunities.
Wake’s drive to end the first half was critical. They drove 75 yards on 14 plays to extend the lead back to 10, and they never looked back. They finished the first half with a dominant 249 to 52 advantage in total yards.
Wake Forest finished the game with a dominant advantage in the box score. They accumulated 481 yards compared to Delaware’s 94. The Deacs had 29 first downs to Delaware’s 8. Had it not been for the 2 turnovers, which isn’t necessarily a fair statement, then this would have been a total domination. Still, I was satisfied with the performance.
I was very impressed by Matt Colburn in Saturday’s game. He started for the injured Cade Carney, and did not disappoint. He finished with 24 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 2 passes for 27 yards. He’s a downhill runner who is patient and picks his spots. I don’t think he’s as good as Carney, but he is similar in that he is patient and also can catch out of the backfield.
John Wolford was very shaky in the first half in relief of Kendall Hinton, but regained composure as the game went along. He was initially just 2-9 for 22 yards, but finished the game 13-24 for 155 yards 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He also did a nice job of running when opportunities presented themselves, and he finished with 7 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown. He could very well be needed next week against Indiana, so it was important for him to get in a good rhythm in Saturday’s game.
Wake Forest is now 3-0 for the first time since 2008, and will travel to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers next week. Please continue to follow Blogger So Dear for additional analysis of this contest, and any updates on the health status of Kendall Hinton.
