Clemson Football: 3 Reasons Tigers will beat the Demon Deacons
By Dante Pryor
1. Wake Forest’s defense has not been tested.
Last season, Wake Forest struggled to stop Clemson’s offense. The Tigers ran for 333 yards and four touchdowns against the Deacons. While Uiagalelei was not stellar in the game, Beaux Collins did have 137 of Clemson’s 210 receiving yards in last season’s game. Clemson also had several wide receivers out for the game, including Justyn Ross and Frank Ladson.
The situation is similar to the defensive line. If Wake Forest gave up over 500 yards of offense against Clemson at about 60 percent, how much more will they allow to a healthy Clemson offense? Both Will Shipley and Kobe Pace are ready to play this weekend. They ran for 303 yards last season.
Wake Forest has allowed 317 yards and 23 points per game this season. Their points per game are skewed because they allowed 36 points to Liberty last weekend. Their other opponents, Virginia Military Institute and Vanderbilt, are not exactly offensive juggernauts. The Deacons do have nine sacks and eight turnovers this season.
This is the best offense Wake Forest has seen this season. Clemson football does not have a consistent vertical threat, but Beaux Collins and E.J. Williams can get deep. Wake’s offense won’t do its defense any favors because of the uptempo offense.