Continue Getting Your Grown Man On

Big challenge ahead:

Don't be surprised if the Deacons have success early on Saturday. With its variety of unusual orbit motions, misdirection runs and reverses, and unique blocking angles, Wake Forest still employs some different plays that can keep defenses off-balance.

"Their flankers have carried the ball 34 times between them," O'Brien said, referring to receivers Devon Brown and Chris Givens. "Certainly with Skinner being a fourth-year quarterback, he's probably the most mature quarterback in the conference. They lead the conference in total offense."

("Unique blocking angles" ... nice euphemism, Tony.)

This is what's so consistently frightening about Wake's scheme, even though it hasn't been effective in general over the last few years.  They show a defense so many different things, then start running fakes off of those various things.  And it's going to be a new experience for a lot of State's secondary.  Tom O'Brien mentioned earlier this week that Wake Forest does an excellent job creating good matchups for themselves and exploiting weaknesses, and that the Pack secondary's inexperience would have the coaches holding their breath on Saturday.   That's one of the big early-game indicators tomorrow, I think--how the secondary and the safeties in particular are reading plays.

Wake Forest's plan to stop the NC State offense starts with Jim Grobe taking a desperate stab at jinxing Russell Wilson:

"You see a guy that hasn't thrown an interception since Moby Dick was a minnow," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said.

Speaking of which, when do you think Russell Wilson will throw his next interception?

1.) Saturday; Grobe jinx nigh impossible to overcome.
2.) Nov. 28th vs. UNC; done out of pity with the Pack up 56-2.
3.) Feb. 3rd, 2013, Super Bowl XLVII; stone-handed Braylon Edwards botches easy grab, tips ball to free safety, Browns win anyway.
4.) Never!