DURHAM, N.C. (AP) Wake Forest has scored a few touchdowns and earned a couple of Atlantic Coast Conference victories under coach Dave Clawson. True freshman running back Cade Carney had 108 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns to pace Wake.
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Duke couldn’t capitalize, coming up empty after a 59-yard Jones to Chris Tayor pass when freshman A.J. Reed missed his first college field-goal, from 30-yards out. Duke led 7-3 at the half, but the Wildcats opened the second half with a 98-yard kickoff return by Solomon Vault for a score and sealed a 19-10 victory with a late 55-yard touchdown run by Warren Long. “We’re 1-0, we’re excited, there’s a lot to teach off of, but clearly, we have to be a lot more productive on offense”.
“You’ve got to ask, but for for me to get up here after a game and make a pronouncement isn’t fair to the parties involves”, Clawson said. If you’re going to be a winning football team you better learn to play well on the road and I’ve always embraced it.
This year, the Blue Devils find themselves forced to achieve bowl eligibility while lacking a win over Wake Forest.
However, the game-day focus shifted when Hinton took over the slow-starting Demon Deacons and drove them six plays and 85 yards to tie the score at halftime, 7-7.
The Demon Deacons (2-0, 1-0) entered just 4-20 in league games during the last three years.
“When a team invests as much as our guys have invested, they’re not going to fall apart after one drive or one game, ” Clawson said. Receiver Anthony Nash picked up 112 yards on eight catches.Wake Forest began the game with John Wolford at quarterback, but the rotation with Kendall Hinton ceased by the second half when Hinton was used exclusively.Wake Forest took over at the Duke 14-yard line after the Blue Devils fumbled on the first possession of the second half.
Jones had a chance in the fourth quarter, but he threw his only interception of the game to seal it for Wake Forest.
“This is a team that played really hard today”, head coach David Cutcliffe said of his squad’s effort. “This time, we weren’t consistent enough”.
The loss to Wake Forest was disappointing to Duke fans after seeing the Blue Devils win the last four in a row against the Demon Deacons. While not polished as a passer, Hinton had the first signs of providing some sort of run game for the Deacs.
“I think the road sometimes is less distracting than a home game”, Cutcliffe said.
Duke: An offense that was so efficient last week against an FCS opponent still isn’t anything close to a finished product. Senior linebacker Marquel Lee led the team with 10 tackles and redshirt junior defensive lineman Duke Ejiofor sacked Jones three times and forced both of the Blue Devils’ fumbles in the backfield. “That’s my job, pure and simple”, Cutcliffe said. “We’ve got to play well in every aspect of the game”. In the season opener, Duke totaled 308 running yards but the Blue Devils combined for only 37 rushing yards against the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons will look for its first 3-0 start since 2008 when it plays host to DE of the Championship Subdivision.
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The Blue Devils play their first road game next Saturday against another strong defensive team in Northwestern, and the offensive line will need to improve for Duke to have a chance in what now seems like a must-win game before a September 24 game at No. 18 Notre Dame.
