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2017 Notre Dame Opponent Sneak Peek: Wake Forest

Senior defensive end Duke Ejiofor (53) was named third-team All-ACC last year after recordeding 17 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.
Senior defensive end Duke Ejiofor (53) was named third-team All-ACC last year after recordeding 17 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. (Rivals.com)

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Wake Forest (Nov. 4)

Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 3-0.

Last Meeting: The Demon Deacons visited Notre Dame on Nov. 14, 2015, resulting in a 28-7 victory by the Fighting Irish.

2016 Record: 7-6

Wake Forest’s Rivals Class Rankings 2013-17: No. 58 (2013), No. 59 (2014), No. 52 (2015), No. 61 (2016) and No. 74 (2017)

Notre Dame’s Rivals Class Rankings 2013-17: No. 3 (2013), No. 11 (2014), No. 11 (2015), No. 13 (2016) and No. 13 (2017)


2016 Summary

For the first time since an 8-5 finish in 2008, Wake Forest produced a winning season (7-6) and a bowl victory, defeating No. 23 and American Athletic Conference champion Temple 34-26 in the Military Bowl. Such success earned third-year head coach Dave Clawson, who was 3-9 each of his first two seasons, an eight-year contract extension.

The Demon Deacons started 4-0, highlighted by a 33-28 win at Indiana, before losing 33-16 at North Carolina State. After putting on a good battle in a 17-6 loss to eventual Orange Bowl champ Florida State, the 5-2 Demon Deacons hit a tailspin in the second half of the year with losses to Army (21-13), Louisville (44-12), Clemson (35-13) and the regular-season finale at Boston College (17-14). A huge salve came with the bowl victory.


Projected Starters Returning, per Phil Steele

15, nine on offense and six on defense.

Wake Forest is banking on experience to compensate for the lack of production last year on offense. Among 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, the Demon Deacons ranked 124th in total offense (311.5 yards per game), 118th in scoring offense (20.4 points per game), 113th in passing offense (165.7 yards per game) and 101st in rushing offense (145.8 yards per game).

With new Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko and linebackers coach Clark Lea, that side of the ball had to carry the Demon Deacons — which played a huge role in both getting hired by the Irish. Wake Forest has graduated second-team All-ACC linebacker Marquel Lee (20 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks last year) — but returns two stalwarts in defensive end Duke Ejiorfor and safety Jessie Bates, both of whom were named third-team All-ACC in 2016. Ejiofor bypassed the NFL Draft to come back for his senior year after totaling 17 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks in 2016. Bates also earned Freshman All-America honors last season while finishing second in tackles (100) and intercepting five passes he returned 158 yards, including two touchdowns.

Top News Heading Into Spring

Four new coaches were hired by Clawson, most notably Minnesota’s Jay Sawvel as the defensive coordinator to replace Elko. Sawvel did fantastic work with the 9-4 Golden Gophers last year, finishing 14th nationally against the run, and 21st in both total and scoring defense. They held Washington State’s high-powered offense to 12 points in their bowl victory.

Also new on the staff are linebackers coach Brad Sherrod from Sam Houston State and safeties coach Lyle Hemphill from Stony Brook. Both were defensive coordinators as well.

Wayne Lineburg was hired as the new tight ends coach who also will coordinate the special teams.

2017 Outlook

Like last year, Wake Forest will have to make its hay early with a 4-0 start because the first four contests are Presbyterian, at Boston College, Utah State and at Appalachian State. A loss in any of those four will make the Demon Deacons hard-pressed to finish above .500 a second straight year.

After the first four, the ensuing six games are Florida State, at Clemson, at Georgia Tech, Louisville, at Notre Dame and at Syracuse.

Even with the coaching transition, the defense could remain solid as it was with Elko (top 25 last year). The offense needs to become much more proficient for Wake Forest to return to the bowl scene a second straight season. Quarterback Kendall Hinton missed the final 10 games last season with a knee injury, and his replacement John Wolford passed for a modest 1,774 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Another QB, reserve Kyle Kearns, is one of only two four-star players Wake Forest has signed the past five cycles (everyone else is three stars or lower).


Will Notre Dame Be Favored, The Underdog Or Is It A Toss-Up?

Even when Wake Forest put forth a strong defensive effort in 2015 at Notre Dame, the Irish still won by three touchdowns (28-7). Elko should have a pretty strong understanding of his former team, although the same could be said of Clawson regarding Elko’s schemes.

Nevertheless, in the 12-game regular season schedule, Wake Forest would join Temple, Miami (Ohio) and Navy as the bottom-third group least likely to defeat the Irish. All are home games where Notre Dame should be a minimum two-touchdown favorite, and significantly more if they can fulfill their potential.

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