Wake Forest football beat Elon but is it No. 1 team in North Carolina?
By Ryan Kay
Wake Forest football topped Elon to improve to 4-0 on the season but have the Demon Deacons become the best team in North Carolina?
When you think Wake Forest, basketball not football comes first to mind for fans. However, after a 4-0 start, the Demon Deacons don’t want to be one of the top teams in all of North Carolina, they want to be the best.
The Demon Deacons had an impressive first half against Elon. Wake Forest went into halftime leading 28-7 with junior quarterback Jamie Newman throwing for four touchdowns and just under 300 yards.
Senior Scotty Washington and sophomore Sage Surratt combined caught three touchdown passes in the first half. The Wake Forest defense held Elon to under 75 yards passing and under 60 yards rushing in the first half.
The second half started off well for the Demon Deacons as Newman connected with Washington for 31-yard touchdown reception. The Demon Deacons running game go going in the second half when freshman running back Kenneth Walker III go into the end zone on a 20-yard run. It was 42-7 after three quarters as the Demon Deacons started substituting and getting other players some playing time.
Backup freshman quarterback Michael Kern went four for four on a drive to start the fourth quarter that lead to a 17-yard touchdown pass to fellow freshmen A.T. Perry. Wake Forest would end up winning by a score of 49-7.
In the ACC alone, you have North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Duke along with Wake Forest all from the state of North Carolina. Add East Carolina from the AAC, University of North Carolina at Charlotte of Conference USA, and Appalachian State of the Sun Belt as well.
The Demon Deacons have not had the toughest schedule in the FBS this season but they have played some decent opponents in beating Utah State whose only lose so far has been to Wake Forest, they went on the road and beat Rice by 20, and beat previously unbeaten and in-state rival North Carolina. The win against Elon doesn’t mean as much as they are a FCS team but 4-0 for Wake Forest to start the season is impressive.
The state of North Carolina and in particular collegiate athletics is known for its long rich history of college basketball. However, college football in North Carolina is still important and valued by the fans and alumni of their universities. Even though Wake Forest is known for basketball more than football by most observers of collegiate athletics as the likes of Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, Muggsy Bogues and Josh Howard all played basketball for the Demon Deacons, the football team is starting to build their own legacy and leave their own mark in school history.
Wake Forest had a decent season last year and ended the season on a strong note defeating in-state rival Duke by a score of 59-7 and winning their bowl game against Memphis by three to end the season with seven wins.
The season before last, the Demon Deacons even had more success beating at the time ranked and in-state rival NC State and ending the season beating SEC opponent Texas A&M in their bowl game in a high scoring affair by a final of 55-52 and ending the with season with eight wins.