What Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert said about Mississippi State

The Bulldogs and Demon Deacons are nine days away from the Duke's Mayo Bowl, but have their Christmas breaks first.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Jake Dickert speaks to the media after deafening the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is nine days away and, right now, Mississippi State and Wake Forest are enjoying a quick Christmas break.

But before his team left for its break, Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert talked to local media about his team’s preparation and preview the Bulldogs.

Here’s everything he said:

On Mississippi State’s offense:

Their first quarter split is phenomenal. They play super fast. They're probably going to want to get us on our heels. Who can manage that phase of the game, but also who can sustain it? We haven't played a football game in over five weeks. We're trying to work out that rust. We're trying to go good on good. We're trying to keep the tempo of the game alive. Who can navigate that quickly over the course of the game and who can take care of the ball? In these bowl games, you've got to be able to handle the ball. It might rain, so we'll see where that ends up. If we can do those couple of things and then finish in the 4th quarter, then we'll stick to our plan to win.

On split time during practices...

It was good. I would say it's probably 70/30, so we did a lot of that. We did a lot of team development and we did some good on good stuff to stay really, really sharp. I feel good about the game plans, where they're at. Once we get back from break, it will be all Mississippi State. It will be a little bit like a game week. We will have one more padded physical practice. When we get to the bowl site, it will be helmets. It will be really light. It's about staying sharp and being ready to play fast.

On his team’s motivation to win bowl game…

I feel like this group has unfinished business. We have an opportunity to get to nine wins and be one of the top four teams in Wake Forest history. We kind of fell our own face in the Duke game. I think they're is a little bit of an edge from that football game for our guys wanting to finish. These seniors don't want to just participate in the game. They want to be the champion of the game. We're going to put a banner up here. It is either going to say participant or champion. There is a mindset and an aggressiveness that these guys are pulling some of the young guys that are going to have to have enhanced roles. Our fanbase is excited for this football game and the opportunity to finish the season.