Dave Clawson and Wake Forest with their Gator Bowl win completed one of the greatest seasons in Wake Forest history.
The 38-10 victory over Rutgers finished off an 11-3 season, which may land the Deacs in the top 15. It is virtually assured, that this will be the highest final ranking Wake Forest has ever had.
Maybe 5-7 Rutgers wasn’t the most formidable opponent, but Wake Forest as opposed to several other bowl schools seized the opportunity.
Give a lot of credit to Rutgers, for showing up, and competing on short notice. I gained a new respect for that program. They played in their first bowl game since 2014, on national TV. They can sell real progress to recruits.
Wake Forest has been selling progress for a while, and 2021 saw the result.
Dave Clawson started his Wake Forest tenure with two 3 win seasons. He then had four years averaging 7.5 wins, then a slight setback last year at 4-5. The payoff was this year.
They beat two 9 win teams in Army and NC State, and beat 4 other teams that made a bowl game on their way to the 11 win season.
This was a very good football team, with a QB that redeemed himself in a big game.
QB Sam Hartman had nightmare games against Wisconsin in a bowl game last year, and against Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship. Friday he was outstanding throwing for 304 yards and 3 TDs.
If you’re a fan of a program that says you can’t compete at the power 5 level for whatever reason. I give you Wake Forest, and you can stop the whining.
Yea maybe they won’t win the national title, but Wake Forest is the best version of who they can be. You can’t tell me the majority of Power 5 schools can’t achieve the same level of success with a solid culture and good coaching hires.
This wasn’t a fluke season either.
Next year Wake Forest should be ranked in the pre-season top 25, and a factor again in the ACC Atlantic.
The ACC Atlantic could be one of the better divisions in the country with Clemson, NC State, and Wake Forest all likely to be ranked in the preseason top 25.
The ACC had a dismal bowl season going 2-4, but don’t blame Wake Forest who rose to the occasion.
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