Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Demon Deacons not getting breaks from Georgia Tech

Jackets coach says next foe tougher than 4-5 record

ATLANTA -- The Wake Forest Demon Deacons offer plenty of evidence that luck can have a lot to do with athletic success.

This year’s version of the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based team has seen its share of struggles and near misses, losses and disappointments.

Just 4-5 overall with a 2-3 ACC record entering Saturday’s conference showdown against host Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the Demon Deacons will be out to change their fortunes.

“I think a lot of (their troubles) can be attributed to just bad luck,” Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said.

After watching film of Wake Forest’s games this season in preparation of Saturday’s televised contest, Johnson believes the Demon Deacons’ losses have mostly been the product of untimely calamity.

At home against Miami last week, they led by a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining when the Hurricanes came up with a dramatic drive that ended with 1:08 left on a 13-yard touchdown pass from All-ACC candidate Jacory Harris.

Losing starting quarterback Riley Skinner just moments prior, Wake Forest had backup Ryan McManus in the game on its final possession, and he was unable to get the team in field goal position. The Demon Deacons went on to lose 28-27.

Add that to Skinner’s game-ending overtime fumble against Boston College five weeks ago, and it seems that 2009 has not been Wake Forest’s year for success.

“Our guys, with some of the tough losses that we’ve had, the nature is — even when you’re playing really, really good — you’re kind of expecting something to go wrong,” Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe said during Wednesday’s ACC coaches teleconference. “Although we’ve got some guys who have been a part of some really good football teams here, you still have a concern — especially when you’ve lost so many games late as we have — you start to wonder a little bit if you’re capable of winning.

“My guess would be that our guys are not all caught up in that, but at the same time, we’ve had about six games go to the wire and (the opposing teams) won a couple of them. I think that’s a concern with confidence when you’ve lost some games and especially when you’ve lost some as tough as we have.”

Four of Wake Forest’s five losses have been decided by a combined 10 points.

Aside from a slew of inconvenient injuries defensively, Johnson has not had to worry about a similar string of misfortune. His 10th-ranked Yellow Jackets are 8-1 overall, sit atop the ACC’s Coastal Division and are in good shape to reach the conference’s title game Dec. 5.