Film Room: UNC will need discipline and a little luck to slow down Wake Forest's offense

Wake Forest comes into Friday night's game vs. North Carolina ranked 12th nationally in passing, averaging 356.5 yards per game.

The Deacons have put up one highlight-reel play after another with Jamie Newman connecting with Scotty Washington and Sage Surratt, but the backbone of their explosive offense has been run-pass option plays off their zone read concepts.

"They don’t let you steal guys in the run game," Carolina defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said. "If you're trying to drop a safety in to defend the run or use a corner in the run game, because they hold onto it for so long and because the O-line does such a good job of protecting the line of scrimmage, when Jamie feels that, he’s able to pull it and throw it and replace you. They kind of make you play honest and I think Phil (Longo) does a good job of that with our offense."

When you think zone-read, you think quick decisions to attack based on where defenders are or aren't aligned or apply pressure.

That's certainly part of what the Deacons want to do, but there's also the element of being reactive to what the defense is giving and manipulating it into an even more favorable situation for the offense.

"You need to be really disciplined or we can run a blitz and go hit it in the mouth," linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said. "You’ve got to be disciplined, because that's what they want the backers to do; they want them to come down and run in the gaps. That’s what all the running backs are looking for; walking, walking, walking and if he sees a linebacker blow a gap, the offensive lineman is going to blow him up and he’s going to go where the linebacker is."

Walking? On a football field? With the ball in your hands, with defensive linemen trying to take your head off?

Yep.

Here's how Wake Forest offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero and the Deacons have become one of the nation's most exciting attacks thanks to the RPO.

This is one of Wake Forest's most effective plays.

Rather than making a split-second decision, Newman keeps the ball in the tailback's belly while keeping his eyes downfield.

This keeps the linebackers in limbo, and the longer he can hang onto the ball, the farther they creep into no-man's land.

With the linebackers still focused on two potential runners, Kendall Hinton has nothing but wide-open grass in the middle of the field. As soon as the linebackers and safety have cheated up far enough, Newman pulls it and delivers an easy completion.

This is the type of uncertainty that Wake's RPO concepts can cause in defenders.

With Newman holding the ball nearly to the line of scrimmage, Utah State's deep safety keeps dropping to defend a potential pass should he pull the ball.

All that does is clear more space for the big, physical Cade Carney, who is allowed to get a head of steam as Utah State's linebackers are kept flat-footed near the line as they wait to react to whether Newman hands it off, keeps or pulls the ball and sets up to pass.

When the Aggies' middle linebacker cheats toward the line, a Deacon lineman identifies him and opens a nice gap for Carney. With dropping, Carney, who rarely goes down at first contact, isn't met for 10 yards.

Rather than making superstar plays on Friday, Bateman just wants his guys to be sound.

"You have to really stay in your gaps and everybody has to do their 1/11," he said. "If I’m the B-Gap defender, I’ve got to defend the B-Gap. They do a good job; it’s a good attack."

This should have been a touchdown, but again, the slant/post that Wake Forest runs out of the RPO is deadly. When the defenders step up, there's nothing but space for receivers over the middle.

Eventually, if your defense is forced to commit extra players to stopping the run, it makes sense to give receivers a massive cushion so they don't burn you up the middle. Newman and the Deacs are more than happy to nickel-and-dime it down the field, too.

Obviously, Clemson is supremely talented, but the Tigers are disciplined, too.

Here, the linebackers don't get sucked too far into the play until Wake Forest commits to the run, while the inside safety doesn't step up until Sam Hartman makes the handoff.

Each Clemson defender does their job here, taking on their blocks and minding their gaps, leaving safety Tanner Muse to take a free run at the ball carrier.

Assignment football can be an overused term, but that's precisely what Carolina will have to do to slow down the RPO on Friday night, but that doesn't account for one major factor in the Deacons' offense.

The 6-5, 225-pound Washington has been a monster this season, with 11 catches for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

He's big and physical with a great understanding of how to use his size to create even more space while Newman has complete trust in him to go get it.

Meanwhile, the 6-3, 215-pound Surratt — younger brother of Carolina linebacker Chazz — poses just as much of a problem with 13 catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

"His brother is a big ol' pretty sucker," Mack Brown said. "He can run and catch.”

Brown likes his corners, but he admits the Deacons' size advantage is a concern.

"Small guys like Trey Morrison, he’s not very big, but he covered the Miami guys really well on Saturday night," he said. "We have our hands full with 6-3 and 6-5 this weekend. Those guys are tall, they’re fast, they’re athletic, they’re both basketball players, so that’s a real issue for us."

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