The top-ranked Clemson Tigers will host Wake Forest at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Death Valley. The game will be televised on ESPN2. It is also Military Appreciation Day and Senior Day for the 20 seniors, who with a win can leave Clemson as the winningest senior class in the program’s history.
About Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons are playing their second consecutive game against a top 4 opponent. Last week they were beat by No. 4 Notre Dame 28-7. Wake Forest outgained the Irish 340-282 in total yardage. That is Notre Dame’s lowest offensive output of the season by 150 yards. The previous low was 432 vs. Clemson.
Wake Forest’s offense: This is how bad things have been on offense the last couple of years for the Demon Deacons. They are currently the nation’s most improved offense averaging 339.9 yards per game this season. That’s up 57.1 percent from a year ago when they averaged 216.3 yards a game. Quarterbacks John Wolford and Kendall Hinton are both expected to play on Saturday. Wake Forest is tied for second in the nation with five receivers with 27 or more receptions. Tight end Cam Serigne leads the way with 40 catches for 421 yards and three touchdowns.
Wake Forest’s defense: Though Wake Forest did give up a 98-yard run to Notre Dame’s Josh Adams last week, the Demon Deacons held the Irish to a yard or less in 11 of their 30 overall carries. Linebacker Brandon Chubb leads the team with 85 tackles. He has 304 career tackles and ranks 16th nationally among active defensive players. Safety Ryan Jonvion is 38th nationally with 261 career tackles and is 19th with 7.9 tackles per game for his career. He has 51 tackles this season.
Records: Clemson (10-0, 7-0 ACC); Wake Forest (3-7, 1-5 ACC)
Series record: Clemson leads the series 62-17-1
Games in Clemson: Clemson leads 36-7
First meeting: Clemson 13, Wake Forest 0 in 1933
Last Meeting: Clemson 34, Wake Forest 20 in 2014
Last Wake Forest win: 2008, 12-7
Streak: Clemson has won six straight in the series
Injuries: Clemson – Out: LB Korrin Wiggins (knee); WR Mike Williams (neck); WR Ray Ray McCloud (knee); OG Tyrone Crowder (foot); DB Jefferie Gibson (concussion); LB Kendall Joseph (concussion). Questionable: RB Wayne Gallman (ankle); DB Mackensie Alexander (knee). Wake Forest – Out: DL Josh Banks (suspended); RB Charles Argenzio (ankle); RB Rocky Reid (ankle).
Stat worth noting: Clemson’s current 13-game winning streak is tied for the sixth longest streak in ACC history and is tied as the second longest streak in Clemson history. It’s also the second longest current winning streak in the country behind Ohio State’s 22-straight wins. The record for consecutive wins in Clemson history is 15 straight from 1947-1949.
Second stat worth noting: Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has now won 71 games in his career as the Tigers’ head coach. He is 71-26 overall and is in 15th-place on the ACC career wins list.
Third stat worth noting: Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has a 165.0 pass efficiency rating in his last five games. During that time he has completed 137 of 179 passes (.709) for 1,603 yards and 12 touchdowns. In the last five games, he has totaled 1,995 yards, an average of 399 yards per game, and has 16 total touchdowns he is responsible for. He has done all this despite playing a little more than a half in one of those games. He has topped 100 rushing yards in each of his last two games, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
Memorable game: With Clemson currently having its best season since it won it all in 1981 it’s easy to remember the Tigers’ victory over Wake Forest from that season. Clemson scored an ACC record 82 points on that Halloween afternoon. Clemson won by 58 points, 82-24, which is tied with this year’s win at Miami (58-0) as the largest margin of victory over an ACC opponent. The Tigers were 12-for-12 on third down conversions that day and gained a school record that still stands with 756 yards of total offense. Clemson rushed for a still school record 536 yards and averaged 8.7 yards per play. In all, Clemson set 21-school, stadium and conference records in the game.