W2WF: Wake Forest

There's an annual scene during the Sanfermines festival held in Spain. People stand in the streets with heightened anticipation as others watch from balconies overlooking the boulevards. An underlying combination of fear and excitement feed into the nine-day festival, itself the beautiful backdrop to a Pamplona morning.

That emotion is completely shattered when a gate opens and a rocket is fired off into the sky. The roads, once a relaxed anxiety, transform into absolute chaos. Runners begin sprinting from an oncoming horde, and a herd of angry bulls herald a thunderous seismic shift in those same roads. The lucky few jump to safety. Others are caught in the encierro of adrenaline, a fight between men and beasts.

Chestnut Hill isn't Pamplona, but Alumni Stadium won't differ all that much from Spanish streets and bullrings. That's because trying to tackle AJ Dillon or David Bailey is a lot like facing down a couple of big, nasty bulls. The two are a thunderous combination capable of lowering the proverbial boom and beast on would-be defenders. It's an exposed secret that wasn't too hard to spot anyways and is now becoming a well-documented storyline to follow each and every week.

"(Dillon) is a 250-pound, downhill load," Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said. "He is tough to tackle, he can make you miss, he has good speed. And the other running back, (David) Bailey, he's a real good player too. He's 240 pounds. Getting those guys downhill sets everything up that they do."

It's a special brand of attention, but Dillon and Bailey make an impact reaching far beyond their traditional touches. They force defenses to prepare for endurance tests against blunt downhill attacks, spending more time preparing for BC's bread-and-butter run game. That time spent intentionally generates opportunity for perimeter and downfield plays, making the duo a centerpiece for the entire offense, whether a defense realizes it or not.

"They get you to commit to the run, and then (BC has an) ability to take shots in the play action game," Clawson said. "Because of what you have to commit to defend their run game, it's extremely well thought-out. It's a different style, but it works really well for them and they're effective at it."

It's alarm sounded for a reason. Wake Forest watched BC's offense earn a victory last season when quarterback Anthony Brown threw five touchdowns. AJ Dillon ran for 185 yards in that game, ripping off a 45-yard touchdown in the first quarter before Brown hit explosive play after explosive play. That's a ghost casting a looming shadow, and on Saturday, it's a reason why this matchup is one of the most even in all of college football.

Here's what else to watch for in Saturday's game between BC and Wake Forest:

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Weekly Storylines

Blunt Force, Trench Warfare

The Wake Forest defense plays with a nasty edge anchored by its big, physical front. It harbors and fosters the ability to occupy and dominate offensive linemen with ruthless efficiency, and the containment at the line of scrimmage produces easy tackle numbers among second level linebackers. It's a crucial run-stopping ability, and it can shut down BC's ability to spread its offense around by shutting down the point of attack.

"In our room, any time we can get the ball in our hands on the perimeter or downfield, we're expecting to make plays," wide receiver Ben Glines said. "That's the mindset in (the wide receiver) room. When you have those big backs, it opens up those shots downfield and deep and over the middle, and our tight ends really catch the ball well in space. That makes things happen, which with the pass game then helps out the run game."

The line's chief threat is Carlos Basham, Jr., a six foot, five inch monster already equaling his sack numbers from a year ago. He is on pace to shatter his tackle numbers and is incredibly disruptive. His battle against Tyler Vrabel will be in the spotlight on Saturday as Wake Forest attempts to run stunts and shifts to free him up against the zone and gap blocking schemes.

"I feel like it's going to be a really good test for Tyler," Anthony Brown said. "I feel like he's been working (hard), and he'll be ready for it. But I also know that Basham is really, really good."

Behind the line are a group of linebackers capable of moving and adjusting to plays on the fly. Justin Strnad leads the team in tackles and commands enough attention to free up opportunities for Ryan Smenda, Jr., a true sophomore capable of closing on ball carriers from the middle position.

"We have to identify their fronts and rotations," Brown said. "They disguise (the defense) really, really well. I have to get the ball out of my hands quickly. It's part of what we work on every week, and I just have to execute."

Tighten the screws!

Wake Forest's defense plays at a high level, but there are a couple of soft spots in its coverage. Three of the four starting linemen are still young, and Coby Davis and Nasir Greer - the team's listed starting safeties - are undersized sophomores. Everyone is vastly improved over the composite performance from the first four games, but the first two weeks opened opportunities for pass-catching tight ends.

Utah State's Caleb Repp started the year with a five-catch, 59-yard day against the defense that included a 23-yard reception. The next week, Rice's Jordan Myers caught four balls. UNC and Elon's tight ends were non-factors, but there's an unknown element in there because the Tar Heel offense uses running backs as receivers and the Phoenix are an FCS opponent.

That means the BC tight ends will fall under the microscope on Saturday. Hunter Long, Korab Idrizi and Jake Burt account for 42% of all receiving yards in the offense and enter the game with a combined 24 receptions for 333 yards. Long is the team's leading receiver, but Idrizi has two touchdown receptions. Adding Burt into the mix only further complicates who to follow in pass patterns.

"We're a play short in third and medium right, and that's about it in our percentages," BC head coach Steve Addazio said. "If we had one more completion through medium, we're hitting our percentages. I think first and second down throws are an area we can help out a little bit, and that's what we're focused on."

RPOh, it's you again.

Anyone who thought Run-Pass Option would go away is going to have a nightmare heading into the weekend. It's a favored play call within the Wake Forest offense behind quarterback Jamie Newman and his band of targets at receiver and running backs. It's a deadly scheme adept at turning would-be tacklers into carousel horses and turnstiles, and it's something BC has to be better at defending on Saturday afternoon.

"They're a big RPO team," defensive back Brandon Sebastian said. "They like to read the defense and the SAM linebacker lets them know (whether) to pull it for a running play or pull for a dump off. We just need to contain (Newman) and contain him well in the back end."

The Eagles aren't strangers to the general concepts of RPO because its elements exist in their own offense. A number of opponents already ran it against BC this year with varying degrees of success, but the Demon Deacon spin makes it especially dangerous. Newman is a little slower in executing his option, enabling him to make reads across the linebackers instead of just the defensive line.

It suckers a defense and creates a different dimension to its dynamic execution. Newman can burn a blitzing defense by handing to a running back or running himself through a gap. He can also choose to pass if the defense hangs back, and the slower nature of his RPO gives him the chance to read linebackers and defensive backs instead of making snap throws.

"They like to mix up RPO and read zones," Sebastian said. "They like to go slow to read the backer. If they step up (from the backfield), they're going to dump it off, but they (also) like to go downfield. They don't care about the situation. They're going to challenge us downfield."

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They Said It

"It's early in both of our years, and I don't know who the better team is. I hope it's us but we know we're playing a pretty good football team." -Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson

"There are similarities (between BC and Wake). Philosophically maybe a little different, just how go about things. We're more of a pro style set. They might be more a spread set. But we've had great games over the years." -BC head coach Steve Addazio

"We don't like to punt but when we do, we want to flip the field, pin them deep and make that percentage go down for them to have to go all those yards back. We just have to be physical, we have to get after them right away, and we have to come out with a fire." -Wake Forest long snapper Dayton Diemel

"I just need to gain confidence in my feet, and (make defenses) respect me as a runner." -BC quarterback Anthony Brown

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Countdown to Kickoff

10…BC is tied for fifth nationally with 10 turnovers gained on defense. It ranks No. 1 in overall turnover margin (+2.25).
9…The Eagles hold nine wins over Wake Forest since joining the ACC in 2005.
8…Quarterback Jamie Newman is 7-1 in his first eight starts for Wake Forest. It ties him with Jay Venuto for second-best in program history to start a career.
7…Wake Forest is 4-0 for the third time in the Dave Clawson era and third time in the last four years. It opened 4-0 in seven seasons in its program history but hasn't been 5-0 since 2006.
6…Sage Surratt has touchdown receptions in six consecutive games, tied for the Deacon program record with Desmond Clark.
5…The Demon Deacons are opening their ACC schedule against BC for the fifth time and third consecutive year. They have just one win in those five attempts, in 2017.
4…AJ Dillon enters Saturday needing four touchdowns to tie the all-time program rushing touchdown set by Keith Barnette (1973-1975).
3…This BC's third game all-time against a team ranked No. 24 in the nation. Both of the prior meetings were ironically against Notre Dame; BC beat the Irish, 24-23, in 2004 but lost, 16-14, in 2011.
2…Wake Forest has the two highest passing yardage games in the ACC this season (401 vs. Utah State and 393 vs. Elon)
1...Last week's game marked the first time this year that BC held a time of possession advantage over an opponent.

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BC-Wake Forest X Factor

Brandon Sebastian and Tate Haynes

The first four weeks produced both good and bad moments for the Boston College defense. The team surrendered chunk and explosive plays in almost every game but compensated by simply causing turnovers and forcing field goals instead of touchdowns. The approach worked in three of the first four games, and it's a big reason why the Eagles passed the first quarter pole with a 3-1 record.

This week provides an altogether different challenge. Both Scotty Washington and Sage Surratt went over 100 yards last week against Elon, and each had two touchdowns. It was the first dual two-touchdown performance by receivers since a 2017 game against Presbyterian, and despite coming against an FCS opponent, it represents a high water mark for the offense's early-season surge.

Sebastian and Haynes will have their hands full in their battle against the dynamic duo receivers. Washington has five career 100-yard receiving games, and Surratt has four, including three this season. Both have size mirroring receivers like Brandon Marshall, Mike Evans, Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson and AJ Green. They both possess agility and breakaway speed, and quarterback Jamie Newman gets both involved in game plans early.

It leaves no question that Newman will challenge Sebastian and Haynes early and often because Surratt and Washington make it impossible to win a physical battle downfield without risking a pass interference or physical penalty. Instead, the defensive backs will need to flip the field and play the duo right into their style of play - physical, rugged, jamming defense capable of producing turnovers.

Allowing Surratt and Washington to run downfield would create instant separation, so there's a need to simply play smarter against the two. Timing defensive routes to play the ball will be a big factor, and those will create turnover opportunities. Jamming the receivers at the line of scrimmage is one course of action, but it's less likely that Newman, in a spread offense, throws to one of them in underneath packages. Leaving a small cushion at the line of scrimmage, though, allows for a quick punch at the line and a defensive position or switch against in cuts, slants and verticals.

At some point, Surratt and Washington will make a big play. The key is for BC to offset them with big plays of its own. For the starting defensive backfield, that's a huge task but one that can switch momentum in a hurry.

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Meteorology 101

My closet is an absolute mess right now because it essentially has two types of wardrobes in it. I have to dig through the polo shirts and golf shorts when it's warm during the day, but the nights are forcing me to unpack pants and hooded sweatshirts. There are clothes littering the entire area, and I'm at the point where I'm not even trying to clean it up before November.

Welcome to early autumn in New England. It's still warm during the day, but the temperatures at night drop. It creates a 30-degree difference within 24 hours, without rhyme or reason. It's my favorite time of year for a number of reasons, but the bilateral nature of my closet isn't one of them. Maybe I shouldn't be complaining, though.

Saturday's forecast is calling for more of what we've experienced in Boston over the past week. The daytime highs will soar into the mid-80s, and night lows will drop under 60. It's going to be breezy, but it's still warm. Dress accordingly, whatever that means to you.

At least there's no rain.

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Scoreboard Watching

Weeks four and five begin the process of ramping up conference games across college football. The non-conference slate is either complete or nearing its end for the majority of teams, resulting in the end of the trial sweetheart period for regular season games. Simply put, this is the time of year when the "real season" starts and competition takes a significant hike.

BC-Wake Forest is part of a dual conference matchup at 3:30 p.m., kicking off opposite the Clemson-North Carolina game in Chapel Hill. Both serve as a teaser for the NC State-Florida State game at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network.

A fourth conference game, Duke-Virginia Tech, is in the Coastal Division at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

These are some big games that will go a long way in determining the run-up to the rest of conference play. It's the conference opener for both NC State and Wake Forest, while BC and FSU need wins to keep pace with Clemson. A loss in any capacity is a setback, especially since everyone other than Syracuse still needs to play the Tigers. For the Seminoles, a second loss would unquestionably kill a potential run at the division crown without help, especially if BC wins and creates an early-season separation for itself.

In the Coastal Division, No. 18 Virginia heads to No. 10 Notre Dame for a non-conference matchup at 3:30 p.m. The Cavaliers are 3-0 with two wins over ACC opponents, and this represents a not-so-sneaky important game in their quest to jump into the Top Ten foray. It's part of a four-game slate at 3:30, the last match of which involves Georgia Tech playing at Temple.

There are two separate non-conference games in the early afternoon. Syracuse hosts Holy Cross at 12 p.m. on ACC Network, and Pittsburgh hosts Delaware at 12:30 on ACC Network Extra.

The plate only gets fuller on the national scale. No. 8 Wisconsin hosts Northwestern at 12 p.m. on ABC after blasting Michigan last week. At 3:30 p.m., No. 2 Alabama hosts Ole Miss in an SEC matchup, and No. 21 USC heads to the Pacific Northwest to play No. 17 Washington. No. 7 Auburn plays Mississippi State in the primetime setting, and No. 5 Ohio State is at Nebraska.

In the late games, No. 19 Utah hosts Washington State.

More locally, the Ivy League joined the college football season last week when its teams kicked off their regular season. There's a couple of big games this weekend, including Brown's trip to Harvard Stadium on Friday night at 7 p.m. Our good buddy (and co-host of The Perch Podcast) Bill Spaulding has the call for that one.

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Pregame Quote and Prediction

In Greek mythology, the Titans were greater even than the gods. They ruled their universe with absolute power. Well that football field out there, that's our universe. Let's rule it like titans. -Coach Herman Boone, "Remember The Titans"

When Boston College takes the field on Saturday, it will see a mirror image team because Wake Forest is occupying its exact same spot from last season. The No. 24 Demon Deacons are ranked for the first time in a decade with a 4-0 record, providing the program with an optimistic and encouraging injection of enthusiasm. It's a well-earned spirit and the product of a long-haul rebuild installed by a committed coach and dedicated staff. It's a short-term victory worth celebrating, and everyone owes Wake some form of congratulations on reaching this point.

The team's performance rightly earned status as a favorite this week, but that doesn't mean Wake Forest is automatically owed a victory. BC is back at home after a team-building victory at Rutgers last week, and all signs this week point to a refocused and energized roster. That likewise won't guarantee a home win - especially in this matchup - but there's a feeling of a level playing field.

Last year, Boston College went 4-0 and earned its first ranking in a decade before going on the road to play Purdue. The Boilermakers promptly handed down a decisive defeat, ending the short tenure in the polls before it ever got started. So it's true, right now, that Wake Forest is ultra-talented and playing like they rule the field, but if BC can play like titans, perception will change the reality very quickly.

Boston College and No. 24 Wake Forest will meet at Alumni Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game can be seen on television via ACC Network or on streaming devices via ESPN's online platform or the ESPN app. Viewers must have an ACC Network subscription in order to watch the game online. For a full list of cable providers, visit www.getaccn.com.

The game can also be heard via the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network, locally in Boston at WEEI 850 AM. It can also be heard on satellite radio on Sirius channel 111, XM channel 202 and Online channel 965. The radio broadcast is also available for streaming via the TuneIn app on mobile devices.

Boston College Athletics

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Players Mentioned

David Bailey

Anthony Brown

Jake Burt

AJ Dillon

Ben Glines

Tate Haynes

Korab Idrizi

Hunter Long

Brandon Sebastian

Tyler Vrabel

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