Wake Forest football has taken an unconventional road to their 4-4 record so far — most recently going cross-country and winning their third-straight road game at the Stanford Cardinal, 27-24.
The win didn’t come easy, especially due to self-inflicted wounds. Wake Forest was called for an ineligible receiver downfield three times.
“We’ve been running these RPOs for ten years, and we’ve never been officiated like that,” Clawson said. “We probably had more calls on [ineligible receivers downfield] today than we’ve had the past three years.”
Those penalties were just three of the Demon Deacons’ 10 on the day, totalling 95 yards, yet the Demon Deacons were still able to escape with the victory.
“We made a bunch of mistakes, and the penalties we had in this game are very uncharacteristic,” Clawson said. “Football is an imperfect game, and you don’t mind making those corrections after a win.”
Quarterback Hank Bachmeier threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns, tying a season record. Bachmeier, a redshirt senior and Murrietta, Calif. native, was able to command the Demon Deacon offense to victory in front of his family, including his younger brother, Stanford wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier.
“It was very emotional,” Bachmeier said postgame. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to play your younger brother, and it feels amazing to get a win on top of that.”
While the Demon Deacons got off to a rough start, the locker room feels that momentum is on their side.
“We’ve got off to some fast starts here in the past,” Clawson said. “I think all of our players and coaches deserve a lot of credit — after being 1-3 and left for dead — and being able to pull off three wins in one-score road games; that’s not easy to do.”
One of the most pressing issues for the Demon Deacons heading into the game was the absence of key players in the secondary. Four different defensive backs didn’t play, with Jamare Glasker, C’Darius Kelley, Capone Blue and Travon West each missing from the lineup. Despite the injuries, they now have a bye week to recuperate before facing another new ACC team: the California Golden Bears.
Wake Forest will play the Golden Bears on Friday, Nov. 8 at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.
