Wake Forest Visits the Orange Bowl for an ACC Showdown
Nov. 15, 2004
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Miami Hurricanes (No. 12 AP / No. 13 ESPN/USA TODAY)vs. WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS
When: 12 noon EST Saturday, November 20, 2004
Where: Orange Bowl (natural grass) in Miami, Fla.
National TV: ESPN will televise the game live with Dave Barnett (play by play), Bill Curry and David Norrie (analysis) and Alex Flanagan (field reporter).
Tape Delay: CSS will televise the game on tape delay at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Local Radio: The Hurricanes Radio Network (WQAM 560 AM and ESPN 760 AM West Palm Beach) will carry the game live with Joe Zagacki (play by play), Don Bailey Jr. (analysis) and Brian London (sideline reporter). Josh Darrow is the studio host.
Radio En Espanol: WSUA 1260 AM will broadcast the game in Spanish with Roly Martin (play by play) and Joe Martinez (analysis).Student Station WVUM (90.5 FM) will broadcast the game, with Jeremy Marks-Peltz and Adam Aizer calling the action.
Websites: Miami (www.hurricanesports.com) and Wake Forest (www.wakeforestsports.com)
This week’s game:One down, two to go. Fresh off an upset win at No. 10 Virginia, the Miami Hurricanes need victories in their final two games to very likely go to a BCS bowl game. Next up are the Wake Forest Deamon Deacons at 12 noon Saturday at the Orange Bowl. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN. The Hurricanes own a 7-2 record and are ranked 12th in the AP poll, 13th in the coaches poll and 12th in the BCS standings, and they control their own destiny heading down the stretch. Following the Wake Forest game, Miami has an open week before closing out the regular season on Dec. 4 at home against Virginia Tech, the current Atlantic Coast Conference leader. If the Hurricanes win the final two games, they would most likely win the ACC championship through a complicated tiebreaker system and be the league’s representative in a BCS bowl game.
Miami snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Virginia 31-21 last Saturday in its final road game of the season. The Hurricanes’ two losses — to North Carolina and Clemson — were decided on the final play of each game, the latter in overtime. The Hurricanes are now 4-2 in their first season in the ACC, half a game behind Virginia Tech. By winning out, they would finish 6-2 in the conference and be assured of at least a tie for the ACC championship with Florida State and possibly Virginia Tech and/or Virginia. The league’s automatic BCS berth would most likely go to the Hurricanes because they would own victories over Virginia, Virginia Tech and Florida State and presumably would be ranked highest in the BCS standings.
The Hurricanes never trailed in their victory at Virginia. Frank Gore rushed for a career-high 195 yards and a touchdown, as the offense generated a season-high 203 yards on the ground. Roscoe Parrish scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns — a 62-yard punt return and a 25-yard pass on fourth down with less than a minute to play. The Miami defense had its best game in a month, holding the NCAA’s 11th-ranked offense to 315 total yards and only 94 yards passing. And they did it with a revamped defense that did not have a senior in the starting lineup. Two freshman linebackers (Romeo Davis and Jon Beason) made their first career starts, Devin Hester made his first start at cornerback in place of an injured Antrel Rolle, and true freshman Anthony Reddick started at safety.
“When we have our backs to the wall, normally we come out swinging,” said Miami head coach Larry Coker. “I think that motivated them. We’ve been used to a lot of pretty good things being said about us. We wanted to get that good feeling back of winning, pride in the program and pride of being who we can be. The season’s not over. There are two more games to play, and I think our players understand that.”
THE OPPONENT: Wake Forest is 4-5 and in 10th place in the ACC with a 1-5 record after losing to North Carolina 31-24 last Saturday. The Demon Deacons were 5-7 in 2003. They are led by running back Chris Barclay, the leading rusher in the ACC with 850 yards and seven touchdowns and the school’s third all-time leading rusher. Head coach Jim Grobe has a record of 22-23 in four seasons at Wake Forest and is 55-56-1 in 10 seasons as a head coach.
THE SERIES: Even though the series began in 1928, this is only the seventh game between the two teams, with each team having three wins. They have not met since 1971 and only twice since World War II.
A HURRICANES VICTORY OVER THE DEMON DEACONS WOULD: Give them a 8-2 record for the season and a 5-2 mark in the ACC, keeping them in the race for the ACC championship. It would also give the Hurricanes a 4-3 mark in the all-time series with Wake Forest.
