2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record4–8 (1–7 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorWarren Ruggiero (10th season)
Offensive schemeSlow mesh[1]
Defensive coordinatorBrad Lambert (5th season)
Base defenseMultiple 4–2–5
Home stadiumAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
2023 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 Florida State y$   8 – 0     13 – 1  
No. 19 Louisville y   7 – 1     10 – 4  
No. 21 NC State   6 – 2     9 – 4  
Georgia Tech   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Virginia Tech   5 – 3     7 – 6  
North Carolina   4 – 4     8 – 5  
No. 20 Clemson   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Duke   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Miami (FL)   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Boston College   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Syracuse   2 – 6     6 – 7  
Virginia   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Pittsburgh   2 – 6     3 – 9  
  1 – 7     4 – 8  
Championship: Florida State 16, Louisville 6
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Demon Deacons were led by Dave Clawson in his tenth year as head coach. They played their home games at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team drew an average home attendance of 30,609 in 2023.

Offseason

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2023 NFL draft
Player Position Team Round Pick
Kobie Turner DE Los Angeles Rams 3 89
A. T. Perry WR New Orleans Saints 6 195

Transfers

Outgoing

Player Position Destination
Jackson Hensley WR Eastern Kentucky
Christian Turner RB Indiana
Zavier Simpson WR Ball State
Brett Griffis QB James Madison
J.J. Roberts CB Marshall
Gavin Holmes CB Texas
Quinton Cooley RB Liberty
Rondell Bothroyd DL Oklahoma
Dez Williams WR Stony Brook
Sam Hartman QB Notre Dame
Bernard Gooden DL South Florida

[2]

Incoming

Player Position Previous school
Bryce Ganious DL Villanova
Walker Merrill WR Tennessee
Jacob Roberts ILB North Carolina A&T

Schedule

Wake Forest and the ACC announced the 2023 football schedule on January 30, 2023.[3][4] The 2023 season will be the conference's first season since 2004, that its scheduling format just includes one division. The new format sets Wake Forest with three set conference opponents, while playing the remaining ten teams twice (home and away) in a four–year cycle. The Demon Deacons three set conference opponents for the next four years is; Duke, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech.[5][6]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 317:00 p.m.Elon*
ACCNW 37–1730,028
September 911:00 a.m.Vanderbilt*
  • Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC
ACCNW 36–2028,363
September 1612:00 p.m.at Old Dominion*
ESPN2W 27–2418,276
September 236:30 p.m.Georgia Tech
  • Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC
The CWL 16–3032,528
October 73:30 p.m.at Clemson
ACCNL 12–1780,810
October 143:30 p.m.at Virginia Tech
ACCNL 13–3065,632
October 213:30 p.m.Pittsburgh
  • Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC
ACCNW 21–1731,855
October 2812:00 p.m.No. 4 Florida State
  • Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC
ABCL 16–4131,288
November 27:30 p.m.at Duke
ESPNL 21–2418,277
November 112:00 p.m.NC State
  • Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)
The CWL 6–2629,591
November 183:30 p.m.at No. 19 Notre Dame*
NBCL 7–4577,622
November 252:00 p.m.at Syracuse
The CWL 31–3535,018

[7]

Game summaries

Elon

See also: 2023 Elon Phoenix football team
Elon Phoenix at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Phoenix 0 0 14317
Demon Deacons 10 14 6737

at Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC

  • Date: August 31, 2023
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 30,028
  • TV: ACCN
Game information
Statistics ELON WAKE
First downs 13 22
Total yards 251 427
Rushing yards 104 98
Passing yards 149 327
Turnovers 2 1
Time of possession 31:50 28:10
Team Category Player Statistics
Elon Passing Justin Allen 18/29, 130 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Jalen Hampton 15 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Jordan Bonner 7 catches, 58 yards
Wake Forest Passing Mitch Griffis 19/30, 329, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Demond Claiborne 13 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Jahmal Banks 6 catches, 108 yards, 1 TD

Vanderbilt

See also: 2023 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
Game Two – Vanderbilt Commodores (2–0) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vanderbilt 0 14 0620
Wake Forest 3 21 3936

at Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC

  • Date: September 9, 2023
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 28,363
  • Referee: Lee Hendrick
  • TV announcers (ACCN): Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Hutson Mason (analyst), Lericia Harris (sideline)
Game information
First quarter
  • (12:50) WAKE – Matthew Dennis 25-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 0:40; Wake Forest 3–0)
Second quarter
  • (12:55) WAKE – Jahmal Banks 7-yard pass from Mitch Griffis (Matthew Dennis kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:10; Wake Forest 10–0)
  • (10:03) VAN – Will Sheppard 11-yard pass from AJ Swann (Jacob Borcila kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:46; Wake Forest 10–7)
  • (3:22) WAKE – Tate Carney 1-yard run (Matthew Dennis kick) (Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 6:41; Wake Forest 17–7)
  • (1:42) VAN – Will Shepard 10-yard pass from AJ Swann (Jacob Borcila kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:40; Wake Forest 17–14)
  • (0:50) WAKE – Brendon Harris 31-yard fumble return (Matthew Dennis kick) (Wake Forest 24–14)
Third quarter
  • (12:36) WAKE – Matthew Dennis 44-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 2:18; Wake Forest 27–14)
Fourth quarter
  • (11:39) WAKE – Ke'Shawn Williams 24-yard pass from Mitch Griffis (pass failed) (Drive: 7 plays, 50 yards, 3:15; Wake Forest 33–14)
  • (9:08) VAN – London Humphreys 30-yard pass from AJ Swann (pass failed) (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:31; Wake Forest 33–20)
  • (2:24) WAKE – Matthew Dennis 20-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 6:44; Wake Forest 36–20)
Statistics VAN WAKE
First downs 21 29
Total yards 423 484
Rushing yards 109 288
Passing yards 314 196
Turnovers 3 1
Time of possession 25:43 34:17
Team Category Player Statistics
Vanderbilt Passing AJ Swann 26/39, 314 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Patrick Smith 10 carries, 77 yards
Receiving London Humphreys 4 receptions, 109 yards, TD
Wake Forest Passing Mitch Griffis 17/26, 196 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Demond Claiborne 26 carries, 165 yards
Receiving Ke'Shawn Williams 5 receptions, 92 yards, TD

at Old Dominion

See also: 2023 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

Georgia Tech

See also: 2023 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

at Clemson

See also: 2023 Clemson Tigers football team
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Clemson Tigers − Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Wake Forest 3 0 3612
Clemson 0 7 3717

at Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC

  • Date: October 7, 2023
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: NW @ 10 mph (16 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 80,810
  • Referee: Jerry Magallanes
  • TV announcers (ACCN): Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (color), Sherree Burruss (sideline)
  • Sources:
Game information
First quarter
  • (2:25) Wake Forest – Matthew Dennis 35 yard field goal, (Drive: 7 plays, 28 yards, 3:15; Wake Forest 3–0)

Second quarter

  • (10:18) Clemson – Cade Klubnik 7 yard rush, Jonathan Weitz kick, (Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 7:07; Clemson 7–3)

Third quarter

  • (7:15) Clemson – Weitz 25 yard field goal, (Drive: 15 plays, 67 yards, 7:45; Clemson 10–3)
  • (2:20) Wake Forest – Dennis 22 yard field goal, (Drive: 12 plays, 71 yards, 4:55; Clemson 10–6)

Fourth quarter

  • (5:49) Clemson – Will Shipley 1 yard rush, Weitz kick, (Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards, 3:45; Clemson 17–6)
  • (1:34) Wake Forest – Demond Claiborne 3 yard rush, 2 point attempt failed (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:15; Clemson 17–12)
Statistics WAKE CLEM
First downs 18 19
Total yards 239 338
Rushing yards 102 207
Passing yards 137 131
Turnovers 1 2
Time of possession 28:39 31:21
Team Category Player Statistics
Wake Forest Passing Mitch Griffis 15/25, 137 yards
Rushing Demond Claiborne 19 rushes, 60 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Jahmal Banks 8 receptions, 55 yards
Clemson Passing Cade Klubnik 18/28, 131 yards
Rushing Will Shipley 19 rushes, 97 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Beaux Collins 5 receptions, 50 yards

at Virginia Tech

See also: 2023 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-2) at Virginia Tech Hokies − Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Wake Forest 0 10 0313
Virginia Tech 0 17 31030

at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA

  • Date: October 14, 2023
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,632
  • Referee: Stuart Mullins
  • TV: ACCN
Game information
Second Quarter
  • (10:42) VT – Bhayshul Tuten 3 yd Rush (John Love Kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:48; VT 7–0)
  • (4:23) VT - John Love 37 yd Field Goal (Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 4:31; VT 10-0)
  • (4:10) WF - Demond Claiborne 96 yd Kickoff Return (Matthew Dennis Kick) (VT 10-7)
  • (3:59) VT - Jaylin Lane 75 yd Pass From Kyron Drones (John Love Kick) (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:11; VT 17-7)
  • (0:20) WF - Matthew Dennis 28 yd Field Goal (Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 3:39; VT 17-10)
Third Quarter
  • (0:49) VT - John Love 26 yd Field Goal (Drive: 13 plays, 45 yards, 6:26; VT 20-10)
Fourth Quarter
  • (12:37) WF – Matthew Dennis 34 yd Field Goal (Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 3:12; VT 20–13)
  • (8:06) VT - John Love 36 yd Field Goal (Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards, 4:31; VT 23-13)
  • (2:47) VT - Jaylin Lane 12 yd Pass From Kyron Drones (John Love Kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards, 3:07; VT 30-13)
Statistics WF VT
First downs 20 21
Total yards 262 462
Rush yards 35 141
Passing yards 227 321
Turnovers 3 1
Time of possession 27:08 32:52
Team Category Player Statistics
Wake Forest Passing Michael Kern 14/22, 166 yards
Rushing Justice Ellison 11 carries, 35 yards
Receiving Taylor Morin 7 receptions, 86 yards
Virginia Tech Passing Kyron Drones 20/29, 321 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Kyron Drones 15 carries, 59 yards
Receiving Jaylin Lane 3 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD

Pittsburgh

See also: 2023 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

No. 4 Florida State

See also: 2023 Florida State Seminoles football team

at Duke

See also: 2023 Duke Blue Devils football team

NC State

See also: 2023 NC State Wolfpack football team and NC State–Wake Forest rivalry
Pregame line Over/under
WAKE –0.5 42.5
NC State Wolfpack at Wake Forest Demon Deacons − Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Wolfpack 7 14 0526
Demon Deacons 0 0 066

at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC

  • Date: November 11, 2023
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m EST
  • Game attendance: 29,591
  • TV announcers (CW): Tom Werme (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst), and Treavor Scales (sideline)
Game information
Statistics NCSU WAKE
First downs 19 8
Total yards 379 163
Rushing yards 268 7
Passing yards 111 156
Turnovers 1 2
Time of possession 40:16 19:44
Team Category Player Statistics
NC State Passing Brennan Armstrong 12–17, 113 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Brennan Armstrong 15 rushes, 96 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Dacari Collins 2 receptions, 40 yards
Wake Forest Passing Michael Kern 14–26, 137 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Demond Claiborne 8 rushes, 12 yards
Receiving Horatio Fields 3 receptions, 31 yards

at No. 19 Notre Dame

See also: 2023 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4–6) vs. No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7–3) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Wake Forest 0 7 007
No. 19 Notre Dame 7 10 141445

at Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN

  • Date: November 18, 2023
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Sunny, 50 °F (10 °C)
  • Game attendance: 77,622
  • Referee: Tim Hedgepeth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jac Collinsworth (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), and Zora Stephenson (reporter)
Game information
First quarter
  • (0:54) ND – Devyn Ford 12-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 4:41; Notre Dame 7–0)
Second quarter
  • (11:41) WF – Tate Carney 9-yard run, Matthew Dennis kick (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 4:07; Tied 7–7)
  • (7:06) ND – Tobias Merriweather 35-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 4:28; Notre Dame 14–7)
  • (0:05) ND – Spencer Shrader 37-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 1:30; Notre Dame 17–7)
Third quarter
  • (14:09) ND – Eli Raridon 19-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 1 play, 19 yards, 0:07; Notre Dame 24–0)
  • (5:22) ND – Audric Estimé 2-yard run, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 5 plays, 54 yards, 2:07; Notre Dame 31-7)
Fourth quarter
  • (13:24) ND – Jaden Greathouse 48-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 1 play, 54 yards, 2:07; Notre Dame 38–0)
  • (3:56) ND – Jordan Faison 17-yard pass from Steve Angeli, Marcello Diomede kick (Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards, 5:49; Notre Dame 45–7)
Statistics WAKE ND
First downs 14 25
Total yards 232 450
Rushes/yards 36–134 30–137
Passing yards 98 313
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 12–21–0 24–34–0
Time of possession 31:27 28:33
Team Category Player Statistics
Wake Forest Passing Michael Kern 11/20, 81 yards
Rushing Ellison Justice 15 carries, 63 yards
Receiving Jahmal Banks 5 receptions, 35 yards
Notre Dame Passing Sam Hartman 21/29, 277 yards, 4 TD
Rushing Audric Estimé 22 carries, 115 yards, TD
Receiving Rico Flores Jr. 8 receptions, 102 yards

at Syracuse

See also: 2023 Syracuse Orange football team

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2024 NFL draft
Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
4 124 Malik Mustapha S San Francisco 49ers
5 174 Caelen Carson CB Dallas Cowboys
7 230 Michael Jurgens C Minnesota Vikings

Source:[8]

References

  1. ^ Markowski, Jack (October 19, 2023). "Pitt Panthers Preparing For Wake Forest's RPO-Heavy Offense". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "2023 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports. August 31, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  3. ^ "Wake Forest will play three of its first four football games this fall at home". News & Record. January 30, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Bergin, Mark (January 30, 2023). "Here are the 2023 football schedules for NC State, North Carolina and Duke". WRAL. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "ACC Announces Football Schedule Model for 2023–26" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  6. ^ Murphy, Brian (June 28, 2022). "ACC eliminates football divisions, adopts new schedule model in 2023". WRAL. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  7. ^ "2023 Wake Forest Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  8. ^ "2024 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
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