Wake Forest Football: 3 takeaways from impressive win at Virginia

Many were wondering if Wake Forest football was for real after compiling three wins in its first three games and we got a little taste of the Demon Deacons’ potential on Friday night.

Wake Forest went to Virginia to kick off Power Five play on the weekend and the Demon Deacons took a big lead early, going into halftime with a 20-3 advantage. It was a rather low-scoring affair compared to what everyone was expecting, but things picked up quickly in the second half.

Virginia responded with a touchdown just 2:23 into the second half and then Wake Forest answered back with a nice trick play in the red zone to make it a 17-point game again. The momentum swung back to Virginia as the Cavaliers scored another relatively quick touchdown to cut the lead to 10 once again, 27-17, midway through the third quarter.

Dave Clawson’s team didn’t fold with the momentum change, however, as they reeled off 10 straight points to put the game out of reach.

What’d we learn from Wake Forest’s big win?

3. Backfield will cause problems for the rest of the ACC all year

Wake Forest’s backfield is one of the best in the ACC and that was evident early on in the first half against Virginia. The Demon Deacons have three capable backs and they all did work.

Christian Beal-Smith is the clear No. 1 and even though he didn’t have the best game, he was picked up by Michigan transfer Christian Turner and freshman Justice Ellison.

Ellison led the way with 86 yards and a touchdown on 6.6 yards per carry and Turner had 54 yards on 12 carries. Beal-Smith had just 47 yards on 16 carries and didn’t have the best game, but the team had over 200 yards and a touchdown on 43 carries.

These guys are going to cause problems this year,