Wake Forest at #3 Clemson
Memorial Stadium, Clemson SC
3:30 PM ABC
Wake Forest (7-2, 3-2) comes to town this weekend in what will be the final home game for the 2019 season. It will also be Senior Day, as many Tigers will be running down that hill for the final time. The Tigers are currently a 34.5 point favorite over what is basically the second best team in the ACC. That is just one of many examples of how down the ACC is this season. Not to knock the Deacs, but when Wake Forest is the second best team in the league, it is a down season for the conference.
Wake is coming off of a 36-17 loss in Blacksburg to Virginia Tech. The Hokies shut the Deacons offense down, turning in a motivated effort for longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who is retiring at seasons end. The loss knocked them from the top 25 and turned what looked like a matchup of top fifteen teams into just another game. They also lost one of their top two playmakers in WR Sage Surratt, who leads the ACC in receiving yardage with 1001. His 11 TD catches are also tops in the league.
Wake has had a very productive offense this season, especially when QB Jamie Newman has been healthy. Losing Surratt hurts them in a big way though, and they were already at a huge disadvantage from a talent standpoint to begin with. Let’s take a look at the numbers from each team.
Wake Forest
- PPG 35.7
- PPG Allowed 25.9
- YPG 487.3
- YPG Allowed 407.8
- Pass YPG 314.1
- Pass YPG Allowed 243.8
- Rush YPG 173.2
- Rush YPG Allowed 164
- YPC 3.9
- YPC Allowed 4.2
- 3rd Down Conv 49%
- 3rd Down Conv Allowed 31%
- Sacks 20
- Sacks Allowed 13
- Red Zone TDs 26-46 57%
- Red Zone TDs Allowed 21-32 66%
Clemson
- PPG 45.3
- PPG Allowed 11.3
- YPG 545.8
- YPG Allowed 251.5
- Pass YPG 276
- Pass YPG Allowed 137.2
- Rush YPG 269.8
- Rush YPG Allowed 114.3
- YPC 6.9
- YPC Allowed 3.0
- 3rd Down Conv 52-119 44%
- 3rd Down Conv Allowed 44-152 29%
- Sacks 32
- Sacks Allowed 7
- Red Zone TDs 34-46 74%
- Red Zone TDs Allowed 8-20 40%