2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	4–8 (1–7 ACC)
Head coach	Dave Clawson (10th season);
Offensive coordinator	Warren Ruggiero (10th season)
Offensive scheme	Slow mesh
Defensive coordinator	Brad Lambert (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–2–5
Home stadium	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t e
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
Wake Forest	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.

Offseason[edit]

Players drafted into the NFL[edit]

Player	Position	Team	Round	Pick
Kobie Turner	DE	Los Angeles Rams	3	89
A. T. Perry	WR	New Orleans Saints	6	195

Transfers[edit]

Outgoing[edit]

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[edit]

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

Schedule[edit]

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 in an (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]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Elon*	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ACCN	W 37–17	30,028
September 9	11:00 a.m.	Vanderbilt*	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ACCN	W 36–20	28,363
September 16	12:00 p.m.	at Old Dominion*	S.B. Ballard Stadium Norfolk, VA	ESPN2	W 27–24	18,276
September 23	6:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	The CW	L 16–30	32,528
October 7	3:30 p.m.	at Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ACCN	L 12–17	80,810
October 14	3:30 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	L 13–30	65,632
October 21	3:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ACCN	W 21–17	31,855
October 28	12:00 p.m.	No. 4 Florida State	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ABC	L 16–41	31,288
November 2	7:30 p.m.	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–24	18,277
November 11	2:00 p.m.	NC State	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)	The CW	L 6–26	29,591
November 18	3:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 7–45	77,622
November 25	2:00 p.m.	at Syracuse	JMA Wireless Dome Syracuse, NY	The CW	L 31–35	35,018
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^[7]

Game summaries[edit]

Elon[edit]

Elon Phoenix at Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Phoenix	0	0	14	3	17
Demon Deacons	10	14	6	7	37

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

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Win Probability

Line

Over/Under

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[edit]

Vanderbilt Commodores at Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	14	0	6	20
Demon Deacons	3	21	3	9	36

at Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC

Date: September 9, 2023
Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
Game attendance: 28,363
TV: ACCN

Game information

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Win Probability

Line

Over/Under

Statistics	VAN	WAKE
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Wake Forest	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Old Dominion[edit]

Georgia Tech[edit]

at Clemson[edit]

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Clemson Tigers − Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	3	0	3	6	12
Clemson	0	7	3	7	17

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[edit]

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Virginia Tech Hokies − Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	0	10	0	3	13
Virginia Tech	0	17	3	10	30

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[edit]

No. 4 Florida State[edit]

at Duke[edit]

NC State[edit]

Pregame line	Over/under
WAKE –0.5	42.5

NC State Wolfpack at Wake Forest Demon Deacons − Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	7	14	0	5	26
Demon Deacons	0	0	0	6	6

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

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Win Probability

Line

Over/Under

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[edit]

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4–6) vs. No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7–3) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	0	7	0	0	7
No. 19 Notre Dame	7	10	14	14	45

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[edit]

Players drafted into the NFL[edit]

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

References[edit]

^ Markowski, Jack (October 19, 2023). "Pitt Panthers Preparing For Wake Forest's RPO-Heavy Offense". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
^ "2023 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
^ "Wake Forest will play three of its first four football games this fall at home". News & Record. January 30, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^ Bergin, Mark (January 30, 2023). "Here are the 2023 football schedules for NC State, North Carolina and Duke". WRAL. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^ "ACC Announces Football Schedule Model for 2023–26" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^ Murphy, Brian (June 28, 2022). "ACC eliminates football divisions, adopts new schedule model in 2023". WRAL. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^ "2023 Wake Forest Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 23, 2022.

[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. Retrieved December 27, 2022.

[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.

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v t e Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
Venues	Gore Field (1922–1939) Groves Stadium (1940–1955) Bowman Gray Stadium (1956–1967) Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium (1968–present)
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