The Wake Forest Demon Deacons went up to West Point, and somehow survived thanks to a 47-yard field goal from Mike Weaver as time expired. The snap was anything but pretty, but the result was beautiful, and the Demon Deacons ultimately won 17-14.
Quarterback John Wolford started the game for the Demon Deacons, was hurt on the first drive, and only attempted five passes on the afternoon, including one brutal interception. True freshman Kendall Hinton came in and demonstrated flashes of brilliance, but also flashes of being a true freshman.
Hinton finished the afternoon with 159 passing yards on 27 attempts, but threw 2 interceptions. He came ever-so-close to throwing an interception with five seconds remaining that could have resulted in a game-winning pick-six for Army. Hinton's biggest strength at this point is his rushing ability. He finished with 102 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns.
Wake Forest was very fortunate on a 3rd and 12 late in the fourth quarter. Army had a man WIDE OPEN, but the pass was beyond him, and Army then opted to punt. If that pass is thrown accurately, then it was probably going to be 21-14 Army at that point.
On Wake Forest's final drive, Hinton picked up a critical 3rd down deep in their own territory. Isiah Robinson then had an outstanding run, followed by a bullet of a pass to Cam Serigne that got the Deacs in Army's territory. Hinton completed a crucial pass to Cortez Lewis for a first down, but then some questionable clock management resulted in them having to kick a 47-yarder.
K.J. Brent had another solid afternoon and finished with 72 receiving yards. Cortez Lewis had 52, and Cam Serigne had 50.
Wake Forest has now gone three games without forcing a turnover on defense. Meanwhile, they had three turnovers of their own today, and that led directly to 14 Army points. If Wake Forest is going to win games in the ACC, then they are going to have to flip the field by forcing turnovers, but they cannot have so many of their own.
The Wake Forest defense did an outstanding job of limiting Army today. Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw was limited to 54 yards passing, and only 61 yards on the ground.
It was not pretty, but I'll take any win at this point. Wake Forest will return home next week, where they will host Indiana.
