One of the most highly anticipated contests across the Week 2 ACC college football slate was found in Winston-Salem, NC, where the Wake Forest Demon Deacons faced the visiting Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday evening. Both schools entered the contest 1-0 and hungry to carry their momentum forward with an early-season win that could prove consequential in deciding bowl eligibility later this season. Coming in hot off of a 45-13 shellacking of North Carolina A&T, Wake Forest’s offensive operations were spearheaded by senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who threw for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns in his season opener. And with the Cavaliers’ gunslinger Anthony Colandrea having thrown for 297 yards of his own against Richmond last week, every indication pointed toward this matchup being quite the shootout.
In what was quite the contrast from last week’s electric first drive, offensive woes kept the Cavalier offense quiet to begin the game, gaining only three yards in three plays before being forced to punt. The Deacons, though, strung together a quick drive and found the end zone on a 17-yard Demond Claiborne run. Later in the first quarter, Virginia looked poised to knot the score after back-to-back passes of 21 and 45 yards, respectively, both on connections between Colandrea and go-to receiver Malachi Fields. However, the offense quickly stalled, and, after two unsuccessful attempts to punch it in from the one-yard line, the team opted to settle for a field goal, which Wake Forest countered with one of their own after a promising drive was killed by two incompletions from within the five-yard line.
Early in the second quarter, Virginia found themselves facing a third-and-long situation from their own territory when disaster struck. As the offensive line began to cave, Colandrea fired off a pass that was deflected by Demon Deacon lineman Tyler Walton into the ready hands of his teammate, Kevin Pointer, who brought the ball within the ten before being chased down. Claiborne rolled into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night, giving Wake Forest a 17-3 lead. However, without being fazed by the deficit, Virginia’s offense mustered a pass-heavy drive that included four gains of 10+ yards and ended with Colandrea finding tight end Tyler Neville past the pylons to reign it back into a one-score game. After a Wake Forest field goal, Neville’s second reception of the game was also his second touchdown, a 24-yard catch that brought the score to within three heading into halftime.
Wake Forest slowly marched down the field after the break on a fourteen-play drive that chewed over seven minutes of play time, spreading the ball between Claiborne and two of the team’s talented wideouts, Donavon Greene and Taylor Morin. Two fourth-down conversions extended the trip down the field and ultimately resulted in a Greene touchdown reception to make it 27-17 in favor of the Demon Deacons. The ensuing possession resulted in Colandrea’s second interception of the evening, this time into the hands of cornerback Jamare Glasker. Wake Forest would go on to kick another field goal to go up thirteen through three quarters of action.
But Virginia wasn’t going down without a fight, and with a fast-paced offensive scheme, they began to drive down the field once more. After passing midfield, Colandrea found Trell Harris, the transfer receiver from Kent State, three times in a row for a combined 47 yards and a crucial touchdown that made it 24-30. It seemed as if Wake Forest would keep the game out of reach for the Hoos as their ensuing drive quickly made it into opposing territory, but a pivotal sack by Chico Bennett, Jr. brought up a crucial 3rd and long. In a chaotic sequence, Bachmeier delivered a 20-yard dart downfield that was hauled in by Horatio Fields, but penalty markers littered the field; as it turns out, offsetting penalties would cause the play to be nullified and replayed. The second attempt was unsuccessful for the Demon Deacons, with an incomplete pass and then another enormous sack, the sixth of the night for the Cavalier defense, courtesy of Trey McDonald.
This turnover on downs handed Virginia excellent field position with only fifty-six yards to go and just over seven minutes to play. Instead of relying on the pass as they had the entire rest of the game, things turned to the trenches, where the Hoos’ revamped offensive line paved the way for running backs Xavier Brown and Kobe Pace to chip away slowly into rival territory. Virginia capped off the twelve-play, five-minute drive with a sneak by Grady Brosterhous, and Will Bettridge nailed the extra point to give the Cavaliers their first lead of the game with just over two minutes left on the clock.
Bachmeier remained poised in the following drive, finding Taylor Morin for nineteen yards and then again for twenty more—but this time, the ball came loose after a heavy tackle from defensive back Malcolm Greene; teammate Antonio Clary dove on the ball to secure possession for UVA, shocking the home crowd and putting Virginia in prime position to close out the game. The Cavaliers were unable to acquire the first down they needed to clinch the game, but an amazing punt left Wake Forest with 95 yards to go and less than a minute left to do it. With no timeouts, it was too tall a task for their offense to muster, and an unsuccessful lateral play in the waning seconds cemented the 31-30 Virginia victory.
In one of his best passing performances to date, Colandrea commandeered the Cavalier offense, going 33/43 with 357 yards and 3 touchdowns. Fields had 148 yards on 11 receptions, while Brown led the rushing attack with 35 yards on the night in what was an incredibly pass-reliant contest. Bachmeier threw for 403 yards, an impressive performance that simply wasn’t enough to pull off the victory. Virginia will be back in Scott Stadium next week to host the Maryland Terrapins (1-1) under the lights at 8pm. Meanwhile, Wake Forest will prepare to host the #6-ranked Ole Miss Rebels (2-0).
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