Florida State Seminoles vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Football Recap

Four years ago, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons entered Doak Campbell Stadium and handed Florida State the only home shutout during the Bobby Bowden era by winning 30-0. Saturday, Florida State returned the favor by shutting out the Deacons 31-0 in a defensive show that FSU fans haven't seen in years. 

Some could argue that the Deacons didn't have the talent needed to beat the Noles, yet having defeated the Noles in three of their last four meetings, Wake Forest had big hopes of a conference upset. Those hopes were crushed, but the Deacons did manage to post more rushing yards (103) on Florida State than any FSU opponent has done so far this year.

The preceding week was filled with controversy over who would be the starting quarterback for the Noles. Christian Ponder suffered a bruised triceps on his throwing arm that kept him from practicing with the first team for most of the week. FSU sophomore E.J. Manuel had won against Wake Forest last year and many fans believed could lead the Noles to victory while Ponder healed. Nevertheless, coach Jimbo Fisher felt Ponder was well enough to start for the Noles. 

Ponder posted his best stats of the year against Wake (24/37, 243 yards, 2 TD), but he did continue an alarming trend of turning the ball over at least once in each game this year by fumbling in the red zone during the first quarter.

The Seminole rushing game saw success against the Wake run defense as FSU running backs rushed 39 times for 201 yards and a touchdown, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. On the other side of the ball, for a team that was averaging 280 yards per game, the Deacons totaled just 103 yards rushing (the first 100-yard rushing game FSU has given up this season). The Seminole run defense continued its dominant play by holding Wake to just 2.5 yards per carry.

> Check out our great selection of Florida State Apparel & Merchandise & the ACC Football Scores!