Wake Forest hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2011. Long a laughingstock of the ACC, the Demon Deacons will be looking to change the narrative today, as they will take on the No. 24 Temple Owls in the Northrop Grumman Military Bowl.

The game marks a result in the change in the culture of Wake Forest football — three years after head coach Dave Clawson took office, Wake Forest has reinvented its football program as a defense-first culture that has the ability to break off explosive plays at any time. Thanks to Clawson’s recruiting prowess and tactical installs, Wake Forest has a roster full of former high-school captains and natural leaders that leave it all on the line every time they step on the field.

For seniors, the Military Bowl represents the last time that they’ll be putting on a Wake Forest uniform, and the first time they’ll be able to bring home a playoff victory for the Deacons in their career at Wake Forest.

For Wake Forest fans, the game is also a turning point in their ability to support the Deacons. Wake Forest fans have been loyal throughout Clawson’s process, and they are finally able to tailgate to their hearts content in Annapolis today as they watch Wake Forest play postseason football for the first time in five years. They’ll be hoping for Wake Forest to secure their seventh bowl win in program history, and to send the senior class out with a special victory.