Wolford Gives Wake a Shot
"I don't know about you, but when I think of Wake Forest, I think of slinging the ball all over the field," said no one ever.
The perception of this program is that they rely on a great defense to win football games and that side of the ball has carried the offense. That may have been the case before, but Wake is starting to change perceptions with the way they have played offense this season.
It all starts at the quarterback position with senior John Wolford. I doubt anyone had him slotted in as an All-ACC candidate prior to this fall, but after eight games he is in legitimate contention to earn the honor of being considered the second best quarterback in the conference (behind the guy who won the freaking Heisman Trophy last season).
He's thrown 15 touchdowns to only 2 intereceptions and is top-10 in the nation in yards per attempt. Wolford is also seventh in the nation in passer rating, leads Wake in rushing, and has scored 6 touchdowns on the ground. The only player in the ACC with more combined passing and rushing touchdowns is Lamar Jackson.
He's the reason why Wake has the 2nd ranked passing offense in the country according to S&P+. They were 118th in that category last season. Just a quick reminder that there were only 128 teams playing FBS football last season. I'm not sure if any program in the nation is more improved at the quarterback position than Wake.
He's developed into a very good football player and the Irish defense will have to keep playing at the level they have been to stop him on Saturday.
Great option QB
I would think if you described someone as being a great option quarterback, then they would assume you were talking about the triple option that Navy or Georgia Tech would run. The reality of the current game is that zone read and run-pass option plays have made many other quarterbacks in different systems adept at running the triple option. Wolford is one of those quarterbacks.
He is a good athlete, but isn't the fastest player. He has a pretty good arm, but not a great one. What he has done at an elite level this season is make the right decisions when it comes to RPOs and zone reads. His ability to pull the football at the last possible moment is remarkable. It's helped him create big plays for their offense when it looks like there is nothing there.
On this play versus Louisville it's his patience and ability to get outside the pocket that turns this into a big play. He is great at being deceptive and then making defenses pay for being undisciplined.
Just as important, he has a quick release and puts the ball in a spot where his receivers can make plays after the catch. This touchdown was almost too easy because he pulled it on the RPO and hit his slot receiver in stride.
Don't fall for the pump
That's what Mike Elston is likely preaching to his defensive lineman before this game because Wolford loves to pump fake and then go to his next option. It's not necessarily a double move type of deal, but more of him selling the potential screen like he does here before going down field.
Normally they might tell the pass rushers to try and knock the ball down if they aren't going to get there, but with Wolford they may as well keep fighting to the quarterback rather than wasting a rush opportunity. The defensive backs need to be disciplined as well when they see him do this.
Always account for him in the running game
I mentioned that he leads the team in rushing and he also leads the team in rushing touchdowns. Only one other player on the team has more than one rushing touchdown. They'll call designed runs like this one against Florida State with him and he does a good job of making himself small behind his lead blockers.
But him keeping it on the read when they play with pace is more of a threat in my opinion. They came out and played very fast against Louisville, often snapping the ball with less than ten seconds gone on the play clock. They'll try and catch the Notre Dame defense napping and Wolford is the one who wants to take the lead in those situations like he did on this touchdown run.
It would be easy to go into this game and think that Wake's defense has to play lights out for them to have a shot at winning. They are a very good group even with Mike Elko no longer calling the shots for them. What makes Wake a dangerous opponent is that they have a legit defense and a quarterback that can hurt you in multiple ways like with his accruracy, decision making, and mobility.
Wake shouldn't beat Notre Dame. They have a shot to do so, though, because their quarterback should test the Irish defense all game long.