Notre Dame travels to Wake Forest on Saturday night for the first football game between these two programs. Both teams are 5-3 this season with sophomore quarterbacks at the helm. The Irish are trying to position themselves for a bowl bid now that the BCS is out of the question, and fans are hoping for a repeat of last year’s successful showing in November. The Demon Deacons are well-coached by Jim Grobe, who has distinguished himself as an overachiever in his ten plus years at the school.

Wake Forest is coming off an uncharacteristically poor performance last week at North Carolina, where five turnovers contributed to their demise by a 49-24 margin. Quarterback Tanner Price, who was having a good season up to that point, was pulled in the second half after tossing three interceptions and fumbling once. The Deacons had committed only five turnovers in their previous seven games until last week, and the Tar Heels capitalized with four touchdowns off these miscues.

The Irish played a strong game against a relatively weak Navy team, but there is still lingering turmoil in the aftermath of Coach Brian Kelly’s critical remarks following their lackluster performance against USC. The players were able to channel their emotions last week to rout the Midshipmen, although it remains to be seen whether the chip on their shoulders will continue to fuel consistently strong efforts during this season’s home stretch.

The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 at 8:00 PM Eastern time. Although most college football fans may elect to watch the showdown between LSU and Alabama in the same time slot, Wake Forest is preparing for perhaps the biggest game in its history. “We scheduled this game knowing that it would be a really tough challenge for our coaches and for our players, but I think the opportunity for our fans and the Winston-Salem community made it something that we had to do” Grobe said earlier this week.

Notre Dame’s Offense vs. Wake Forest’s Defense

The Irish linemen will enjoy a size advantage this week and should be able to run the ball effectively against a defense that gave up 224 rushing yards last week and over 550 in total. The Deacons’ 3-4 alignment is anchored by nose tackle Nikita Whitlock, who is 5’11” and 260 pounds but plays like a Tasmanian Devil. The team has only ten sacks this year, led by Whitlock’s three and 3.5 by outside linebacker Kyle Wilber. Whitlock is flanked by ends Tristan Dorty and Zach Thompson at just 255 pounds each.

Scott Betros is a standout at inside linebacker, and Wake Forest has some talent in the secondary led by senior strong safety Cyhl Quarles and freshman cornerback Merrill Noel. Quarles is by far the team’s leading tackler while Noel has an impressive 15 pass breakups to his credit. Overall, however, this defense has given up more than 28 points per game and will have to rely on a favorable turnover margin to compete with the versatile Irish offense.

Tommy Rees will start at quarterback for Notre Dame, and it is unknown whether Dayne Crist or Andrew Hendrix will enter the game if Rees goes down or Kelly feels comfortable enough to share the workload. Rees has performed extremely well at times but has also been criticized for throwing into coverage and missing open receivers. He has sufficient experience in road games to handle hostile environments, and the 33,000 seat venue at Wake Forest is hardly intimidating.

Grobe has seen enough film on the Irish to know that he must slow down the running game and pay special attention to Michael Floyd. This formula worked for USC and Pittsburgh, who held the Notre Dame offense to 10 and 15 points, respectively. Whether the Deacons have the personnel to limit the Irish in this fashion is very doubtful, but they will give it their best shot.

Wake Forest’s Offense vs. Notre Dame’s Defense

Notre Dame continues to be shorthanded along the defensive line, but freshmen Stephon Tuitt and Aaron Lynch should be motivated to play much closer to their home states of Georgia and Florida. The Irish will face a massive Wake Forest offensive line comprised of five seniors. Despite their size and experience, it’s not clear that this group has been as productive as one might expect. The Deacons average only three yards per rush and have given up 21 sacks to only five by Notre Dame.

Price is not a threat to run the ball, but he has been an efficient passer for Wake Forest prior to last week’s rocky performance. He has a 61% completion rate and had thrown only three interceptions in seven games before doubling that total against North Carolina. While Grobe will try to restore his confidence in practice this week, Notre Dame will attempt to pressure him into poor decisions on Saturday night.

Chris Givens is the team’s leading receiver with 52 catches. He is joined by Mike Campanaro, Danny Dembry and Terence Davis to comprise a respectable group of downfield threats. Surprisingly, the Deacons do not throw many passes to the tight end or running backs.

Brandon Pendergrass and Josh Harris share the ball carrying chores somewhat equally. Each has performed well at times this season but not on a consistent basis. Harris is bothered by a lingering hamstring injury and may again be limited. The team often employs a fullback in a traditional two back set, but Tommy Bohanon serves mainly as a lead blocker. Failure to establish the run against Notre Dame will spell doom for Wake Forest regardless of the strategic wrinkles that Grobe may be planning in the passing game. Of course, the Irish must still play with the intensity that was evident against Navy rather than the disappointing lethargy on display versus USC.

Special Teams

Wake Forest has a solid kicker in Jimmy Newman, who has hit 14 of 15 field goals this season. Lovell Jackson returns kickoffs and punts with generally average results, and he is backed up by the speedy Noel. The Wake Forest coverage teams do a fair job and have managed to prevent the big play.

The Irish remain unable to generate any excitement on punt returns, but George Atkinson brings Irish fans to their feet when he hauls in a kickoff and heads upfield. The kicking game is in good hands with David Ruffer, although he was not needed for anything longer than an extra point last week and has not faced a critical field goal situation in a while. Austin Collinsworth has added a spark to the cover teams with his penchant for hard hitting and stripping the ball. Overall, Notre Dame should have an advantage in the special teams area that can be exploited if the extra effort is applied.

Summary

Grobe understands that his team must play a near perfect game to defeat Notre Dame, but the Irish are no stranger to turnovers leading to bad losses. The visitors can assume control early if they are intent on establishing physical play on both sides of the ball. A tentative approach that keeps Wake Forest in the game beyond halftime could prove disastrous, but a focused Notre Dame team that avoids mistakes and silly penalties should have little trouble winning by a comfortable margin.

The Irish should be prepared to run the ball throughout the evening, even in the unlikely event that they get behind early by more than seven points. Rees should be called upon to spread the ball around to Theo Riddick and Tyler Eifert if the Deacons try to provide Floyd with more than one escort. Defensively, Notre Dame must force Price into difficult third down situations and bring pressure. Givens is a quality receiver but the other Deacons are not a threat to have breakout performances against them if they are properly motivated.

Here are a few questions that will have a bearing on the outcome:

Which young quarterback will be the most efficient and protect the ball?

Can the Deacons establish a credible running game against Notre Dame?

Will the Irish stick to the running game from start to finish?

Will Riddick and T.J. Jones make meaningful contributions if called upon?

Can Notre Dame’s special teams generate points?

Will the Irish be sufficiently focused to take on a highly motivated if undermanned opponent?

Will this game be decided early so I can watch LSU-Alabama?

Prediction

Wake Forest has enough firepower to score a few points in this contest, but not enough to spring an upset unless the Irish bring a sack full of gifts to Winston-Salem. A poor Irish performance would be a disturbing trend in an up and down season that has covered the spectrum from magnificence to head-scratching ineptitude. It’s time for Notre Dame to achieve a higher level of consistency and reach its potential. A strong finish won’t completely erase the missed opportunities, but the program needs to build on success rather than be forced to rebound from failure.

NOTRE DAME 38  WAKE FOREST 20