Duke’s Mayo Bowl: 3 Players to Watch for Wisconsin vs Wake Forest
By Dante Pryor
Christian Beal-Smith, Redshirt Jr. Running Back
The Demon Deacons had quite the three-headed hydra running the football this season. Kenneth Walker III, Christian Beal-Smith and Sam Hartman did a great job running the Deacons’ football this season. Walker decided to opt out the rest of this season, and all of the carries are going to Beal-Smith in this game.
Justice Ellison will step in and get some carries, but the running game’s success or failure lies in Beal-Smith’s powerful legs. The Demon Deacons like to do most of their damage off of their running game. Their two running backs each had nearly 15 carries per game this season. Hartman had 7-10 carries per game as well. Clawson likes tempo, but off of the run action.
What Wake wants to avoid is becoming one-dimensional. Despite only playing five games, the Badgers still boast one of the better defenses in the country. Although Wisconsin does not boast an elite pass rusher, the Badgers can still get after the quarterback.
What the Wake Forest offense wants is balance. The Deacons run about 80 plays per game with a nearly 50/50 split. To keep that balance, Wake Forest needs some success on the ground. That success has to come from Beal-Smith with Walker III not playing in this game.