A.J. Dillon busted out a 45-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game, Anthony Brown threw for five touchdowns, and the Eagles escaped Winston-Salem, N.C., with a 41-34 win over Wake Forest in the ACC opener. And they did it all without a single red zone possession.
BC (3-0) wasted no time getting started in its race against incoming Hurricane Florence. Right guard Chris Lindstrom pulled left on the third play of the game, clearing space for Dillon's fourth rushing touchdown of the season. The sophomore finished with 33 carries for 185 yards, receiving more of a workload in Week Three than in the first two games combined.
The Demon Deacons (2-1) marched past midfield before Will Harris spoiled their opening drive with his first interception of the year. But then the Eagles' special teams woes began. Michael Walker muffed a punt, the Demon Deacons recovered in the red zone, and running back Matt Colburn capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown from two yards out.
As expected, Wake's defense crowded the box and slowed down Dillon, so Anthony Brown responded with play-action bombs. The first one floated into the outstretched arms of Jeff Smith, who was wide open in the back of the end zone and got his foot down on the video review. The 27-yard touchdown pass gave BC a 14-7 lead.
Soon after, though, punter Grant Carlson couldn't handle a high snap and his desperation punt was blocked into the Eagles' end zone. The Demon Deacons jumped all over it to tie the game up at 14-14.
With four minutes remaining in the first half, Wake took its first lead of the game thanks to a huge drive from Sage Surratt. Hamp Cheevers undercut his route but couldn't tip the pass, so the redshirt freshman receiver leaped for the catch and turned up the field for a 32-yard gain on fourth down. Then, quarterback Sam Hartman went right back to Surratt on a slant route for a five-yard touchdown to make it 21-14.
BC responded before halftime with a 35-yard passing touchdown from Brown to Kobay White, who leaped near the sideline to secure the game-tying grab.
In the second half, Wake struck first with a 27-yard field goal, brought about by a huge third-down tackle by Ray Smith. But then came Brown's best drive of his young career. The redshirt sophomore fired darts to Smith, Walker, and Tommy Sweeney, the last of which found the graduate tight end just before the sideline as he tiptoed into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Senior defensive end Wyatt Ray was crucial in limiting the Demon Deacons in the red zone in the second half, recording a school-record and career-high four sacks. And despite getting blindsided early in the first quarter, Connor Strachan recovered to post a career-high 15 tackles.
Brown continued his big night in the fourth quarter. A play-action fake created room for Smith, who paused to catch the pass and accelerated untouched for a 71-yard touchdown. John Tessitore, who was filling in for the injured Colton Lichtenberg, had his extra point attempt blocked, keeping the score at 34-24.
The Demon Deacons settled for a 23-yard field goal to chip away at the deficit, but Brown sealed the victory with a 40-yard touchdown toss to Ben Glines to stretch the lead to 41-27. Hartman orchestrated a late touchdown drive to make it 41-34, but the Eagles recovered the onside kick to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2007. And maybe, just maybe, they could have played themselves into the AP Top 25 for the first time since November of 2008.
“Congrats to BC," Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said. "They outplayed us. We did not play well enough for an ACC game.”
BC (3-0) wasted no time getting started in its race against incoming Hurricane Florence. Right guard Chris Lindstrom pulled left on the third play of the game, clearing space for Dillon's fourth rushing touchdown of the season. The sophomore finished with 33 carries for 185 yards, receiving more of a workload in Week Three than in the first two games combined.
The Demon Deacons (2-1) marched past midfield before Will Harris spoiled their opening drive with his first interception of the year. But then the Eagles' special teams woes began. Michael Walker muffed a punt, the Demon Deacons recovered in the red zone, and running back Matt Colburn capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown from two yards out.
As expected, Wake's defense crowded the box and slowed down Dillon, so Anthony Brown responded with play-action bombs. The first one floated into the outstretched arms of Jeff Smith, who was wide open in the back of the end zone and got his foot down on the video review. The 27-yard touchdown pass gave BC a 14-7 lead.
Soon after, though, punter Grant Carlson couldn't handle a high snap and his desperation punt was blocked into the Eagles' end zone. The Demon Deacons jumped all over it to tie the game up at 14-14.
With four minutes remaining in the first half, Wake took its first lead of the game thanks to a huge drive from Sage Surratt. Hamp Cheevers undercut his route but couldn't tip the pass, so the redshirt freshman receiver leaped for the catch and turned up the field for a 32-yard gain on fourth down. Then, quarterback Sam Hartman went right back to Surratt on a slant route for a five-yard touchdown to make it 21-14.
BC responded before halftime with a 35-yard passing touchdown from Brown to Kobay White, who leaped near the sideline to secure the game-tying grab.
In the second half, Wake struck first with a 27-yard field goal, brought about by a huge third-down tackle by Ray Smith. But then came Brown's best drive of his young career. The redshirt sophomore fired darts to Smith, Walker, and Tommy Sweeney, the last of which found the graduate tight end just before the sideline as he tiptoed into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Senior defensive end Wyatt Ray was crucial in limiting the Demon Deacons in the red zone in the second half, recording a school-record and career-high four sacks. And despite getting blindsided early in the first quarter, Connor Strachan recovered to post a career-high 15 tackles.
Brown continued his big night in the fourth quarter. A play-action fake created room for Smith, who paused to catch the pass and accelerated untouched for a 71-yard touchdown. John Tessitore, who was filling in for the injured Colton Lichtenberg, had his extra point attempt blocked, keeping the score at 34-24.
The Demon Deacons settled for a 23-yard field goal to chip away at the deficit, but Brown sealed the victory with a 40-yard touchdown toss to Ben Glines to stretch the lead to 41-27. Hartman orchestrated a late touchdown drive to make it 41-34, but the Eagles recovered the onside kick to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2007. And maybe, just maybe, they could have played themselves into the AP Top 25 for the first time since November of 2008.
“Congrats to BC," Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said. "They outplayed us. We did not play well enough for an ACC game.”
