The 2008 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

during the

2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 28, 2008 and ended on D ...

. It was Wake Forest's 56th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Demon Deacons were led by eighth-year head coach

Jim Grobe Jim Britt Grobe (born February 17, 1952) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. His previous position to that was as head ...

. Wake Forest played its home games at

BB&T Field Truist Field at Wake Forest is a football stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The stadium is just west of Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, home of the Wake Forest baseball team. It is primarily used for American football, and ...

. The Deacons began their season on August 28 at Baylor. A win in the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl against

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...

gave the Deacons twenty wins over the last two seasons. The team is finished 8–5 overall and 4–4 in ACC play, and beat Navy in the inaugural

EagleBank Bowl The Military Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that has been played annually each December in the Washington metropolitan area since 2008. The game was originally held ...

on December 20.

Before the season

Roster changes

Quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Zach MacDowell enrolled

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

in January, and will play there starting in 2008.

Running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Lucas Caparelli was dismissed from the university after an off the field incident in January.

Recruiting

On National Signing Day, the Demon Deacons received letters of intent from 17 players. * Andrew Parker TE 6–5 225 Jacksonville, Florida Bartram Trail * Terence Davis WR 6–1 180 Lilburn, Georgia Brookwood * Gabe Irby OL 6–3 315 Mt. Airy, Georgia Habersham Central * Ted Stachitas QB 6–3 185 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Nease * Derricus Ellis DE 6–2 225 Rome, Georgia Darlington School * Joey Ehrmann LB 6–4 210 Baltimore, Maryland Gilman * Ramon Booi DL 6–6 330 Jacksonville, Florida Nease * Scott Betros LB 6–1 220 Jacksonville, Florida Bolles School * Riley Haynes LB 6–1 225 Jacksonville, Florida Nease * Kevin Smith DE 6–4 210 Plano, Texas East * Lovell Jackson RB 5–10 170 Tampa, Florida Plant * Garrick Williams OL 6–4 314 Columbia, Missouri Rock Bridge * J.T. Dixon TE 6–4 230 Chandler, Arizona Hargrave Military * Chance Raines OL 6–2 270 Jacksonville, Florida Bolles School * Joe Looney OL 6–3 315 Lake Worth, Florida Lake Worth * Kenny Okoro CB 6–0 185 Greensboro, North Carolina Dudley * Chris Givens RB 6–0 200 Wylie, Texas Wylie

Schedule

Roster

Coaching staff

After the 2007 season, The Deacons had two assistant coaches accept other coaching positions. Defensive Coordinator Dean Hood accepted the head coaching job at Eastern Kentucky. Quarterbacks coach Jeff Mullen left the Deacons to assume the Offensive Coordinator position at

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

Game summaries

@ Baylor

In front of a national television audience, Riley Skinner threw for three touchdowns, including two to Chip Brinkman. Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass added touchdown runs in a lopsided 41–13 scoreline. Alphonso Smith and Alex Frye notched interceptions for the Deacons, who won their first ever game in the state of Texas.

Ole Miss

Sam Swank's 42 yd FG with three seconds remaining gave Wake Forest a thrilling 30–28 win over Ole Miss. In a game with several lead changes, Ole Miss took the lead with just over one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Wake quarterback Riley Skinner led the Deacons down the field in 53 seconds to set up Swank's game-winning field goal.

@ Florida State

In a game that featured no touchdowns, Sam Swank made four field goals to lead the Demon Deacons to a 12–3 win in Tallahassee. The win was the Deacons' second consecutive win in Tallahassee, and the third straight overall over the Seminoles. The Wake Forest defense was stout, allowing Florida State under 250 yards of offense, and forcing seven turnovers, including five interceptions.

Navy

Eric Kettani ran for a career-high 175 yards and backup quarterback Jarod Bryant scored the decisive touchdown in the fourth quarter, as Navy came into Winston-Salem and upset Wake Forest 24–17.

Clemson

Riley Skinner's 7-yard touchdown pass to DJ Boldin with 5:28 to go gave the Deacons a 12–7 win against Clemson. In a defensive battle, the Deacons' defense managed to hold Clemson to less than one yard per carry. Wake Forest dominated the game statistically but were unable to capitalize on several scoring chances. The sole turnover in the game was a Cullen Harper pass intercepted by Alphonso Smith, who tied a school record with his 17th career interception. Riley Skinner also threw for 186 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-34 passing, and also added 73 yards on the ground.

@ Maryland

Chris Turner completed 28-of-41 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown, and Maryland knocked off another top-25 team with a 26–0 thumping of No. 21 Wake Forest.

@ Miami

Wake Forest was not able to maintain a halftime lead in falling against Miami. The Deacons were unable to mount much offense in the second half, and a

Robert Marve Robert Eugene Marve (born February 10, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a high school player, Marve was named Mr. Football Award (Florida), Florida' ...

QB sneak in the third quarter ended up being the game-winner. Fullback Mike Rinfrette scored the lone Deacons touchdown on a one-yard run on Wake's first offensive series.

Duke

In a back and forth affair, Wake Forest held off Duke 33–30 in an overtime battle. Alphonso Smith blocked a punt for a safety and had two interceptions for the Deacons, including one in overtime to end the game. Riley Skinner had a touchdown pass to DJ Boldin, and also scored on a quarterback sneak. The Blue Devils had their chance to win at the end of regulation, but missed a 42-yard field goal that would have won it. Aaron Curry led the Deacons with 16 tackles.

Virginia

On homecoming weekend in Winston-Salem, the Demon Deacons dazzled fans en route to a 28–3 halftime advantage. Riley Skinner threw two touchdown passes in the first half, including a 58-yard strike to Devon Brown. Kevin Patterson gave the Wake defense their first touchdown of the season, as e brought back a UVA pass for a 53-yard touchdown. Wake Forest turned more conservative in the second half, and allowed UVA to pick up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, but the lead was safe, and the Deacons claimed bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season.

@ NC State

Russell Wilson threw the game-winning touchdown to Anthony Hill will ten minutes remaining, and NC State held off Wake Forest 21–17 in Raleigh. DJ Boldin had a hand in both Wake touchdowns, throwing a pass to Marshall Williams for a 64-yard touchdown, and catching a 7 yarder of his own. Williams had his first career 100 yard receiving day, grabbing 7 balls for 116 yards.

Boston College

Backup quarterback

Dominique Davis Dominique Dion Davis (born July 17, 1989) is an American professional gridiron football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Davis played ...

scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak in the final minutes to send Wake Forest to their second straight close defeat. In a defensive battle, the Demon Deacon defense scored two touchdowns, and a punt block set up the third. Kevin Patterson and Kyle Wilbur returned fumbles for touchdowns, and Rich Belton caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Riley Skinner. This game also saw the return of kicker Sam Swank, who missed several weeks with injury.

Vanderbilt

Three different Deacons ran for touchdowns as Wake held off Vanderbilt 23–10 in each team's regular season finale. Brandon Pendergrass, Kevin Harris, and Rich Belton got in the endzone, and Alphonso Smith tied the ACC record for career interceptions. The win guaranteed Wake Forest their third consecutive winning season.

vs. Navy–EagleBank Bowl

Wake Forest scored 29 points in the last 31 minutes of action to win the inaugural EagleBank Bowl, and took revenge on Navy for a regular season defeat. Josh Adams got in the end zone twice for Wake Forest, who also got touchdowns from Ben Wooster and Rich Belton. Alphonso Smith intercepted a second quarter pass to break Dre Bly's ACC record for career interceptions. The Deacons outrushed the potent Navy option attack, led by a career-high 136 yards from Kevin Harris, and Riley Skinner set a FBS bowl record by completing eleven passes without an incompletion.

Postseason

Conference

* All-ACC First Team :DJ Boldin ( WR) : Aaron Curry ( LB) : Alphonso Smith ( CB) * All-ACC Honorable Mention :Boo Robinson ( DE) : Riley Skinner ( QB)

National

* Aaron Curry ( LB)- 2008

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

Winner, 2nd Team AP All-American, 2nd Team Sporting News All-American, 2nd Team Rivals.com All-American * Alphonso Smith ( CB)- 1st Team AP All-American, 2nd Team Sporting News All-American, 2nd Team Rivals.com All-American

Roster changes

Rankings

Scores by quarter

References

{{Wake Forest Demon Deacons football navbox Wake Forest Wake Forest Demon Deacons football seasons Military Bowl champion seasons

Wake Forest Demon Deacons football The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represents Wake Forest University in the sport of American football. The Demon Deacons compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atl ...