Wake Forest Football: Vanderbilt Preview
After opening the season with a 44-10 victory over VMI, Wake Forest faces stiffer competition in Week Two, traveling to Nashville to face Vanderbilt in a return to FBS play. Let’s take a deep dive into the Commodores.
Gameday Info
Date: Saturday Sept. 10
Kickoff: 12pm
Location: FirstBank Stadium - Nashville, Tennessee
Tickets: $25-$40 from Vanderbilt Athletics
TV: SEC Network - Dave Neal, Deuce McAllister and Andraya Carter
Radio: Wake Forest Gameday App - Stan Cotten and Lary Sorensen
Weather: High of 80, chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms
Spread: Wake Forest -8.5 (O/U 60.5); line started at Wake -6 on Sunday
Matchup History
Though the two teams have had quite different levels of success across the past decade, Vanderbilt actually holds a three-game winning streak over the Deacs. The Commodores defeated Wake Forest in 2011, 2012 and 2013 by a combined 72 points. Those wins came with coaches who are no longer with the programs — Vanderbilt’s James Franklin is now the head coach at Penn State, while Wake’s Jim Grobe is retired.
Wake Forest’s most recent win over the Commodores came in 2011, a 34-13 victory. Vanderbilt holds the series lead 10-6.
Vanderbilt in 2021
The Commodores struggled last season, finishing 2-10 overall and a winless 0-8 in the SEC. Their only victories came against Colorado State and UConn, who combined for a 4-20 record. Vanderbilt’s worst loss last season didn’t even come in conference — the team lost 23-3 to East Tennessee State out of the FCS in their first game of the season. Even with their paltry record, the Commodores brought in the No. 44 recruiting class in the NCAA.
Vanderbilt in 2022
Despite being 2-0, Vanderbilt has had varying levels of success this season. In Week Zero, the Commodores beat Hawaii 63-10 in an offensive beatdown. The next week, Vanderbilt looked more like their old selves, struggling to defeat FCS Elon 42-31 in a game that was up for grabs late in the fourth quarter.
Words from the Coach
“Wake Forest has become a standard-bearer…Dave Clawson has built a great program there and it’s going to be a fun team to compete against. I know our guys are excited for that [game]. We’ve got to get healthy. We’ve got to see how many guys we can get ready to play. There’s too much that we left on that field [against Elon]. Wake will be set up to make us pay for that.” - Head Coach Clark Lea
Offense
6’4”, 190-pound junior quarterback Mike Wright leads what has been a dynamic dual-threat offense this season. After finishing with a lackluster eight touchdowns and six interceptions in five starts last season, Wright has looked far more impressive in 2022, accounting for 10 total touchdowns.
Against Hawaii, Wright displayed his ability with his legs, rushing for more yards than he threw. Wright passed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, while tallying 163 yards and two additional scores on the ground. The next week against the Phoenix, Wright threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns, adding two with his feet. With that, the quarterback became the first Commodore to score six touchdowns in a game.
Behind Wright in the backfield is senior Ray Davis. After only playing in three games last season, Davis has rushed for 182 yards and one score as part of a two-player attack with junior Rocko Griffin. Both Wright and Davis have certainly been aided in the rushing attack by three returning starting lineman.
The Vanderbilt wide receiver corps is missing their biggest target from last season — Chris Pierce Jr., with a team-high 654 yards and two touchdowns, is now in the NFL. Looking to pick up the slack is 6’3” junior Will Sheppard and true freshman Jayden McGowan. Against Elon, McGowan had four catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Sheppard caught six passes for 58 yards and two scores.
Defense
This season, the Vanderbilt defense is looking to improve on their nine sacks in 2021, which ranked last in the FBS. The team also allowed 35.8 points per game, ranking them in the bottom 15.
With linebackers Anfernee Orji, Ethan Barr, Kane Patterson and Errington Truesdell leading the way, the Commodores are well on their way to surpassing their sack total from last season; Vanderbilt brought down the quarterback twice against Hawaii and once against Elon.
Orji, a 6’2”, 230-pound senior, is the leader of the group. He led the team with 93 tackles, 12th-best in the SEC, and 13 tackles for loss while starting all 12 games last season. Leading into 2022, the linebacker was named to the Bednarik and Butkus Award Watch Lists, while also being a member of Phil Steele’s Preseason All-SEC team.
Two weeks ago, the defensive unit took a massive hit, with starting edge rusher Miles Capers undergoing season-ending surgery. Senior Nate Clifton will look to fill the former three-star’s spot.
Special Teams
Matthew Haybull, a fifth-year transfer from FAU, will lead the team’s punting unit. The lefty had an astounding 65-yard punt against Hawaii, which makes sense for a player on the Ray Guy Watch List.
The Commodores are weaker at kicking; fifth-year senior Joseph Bulovas converted 73.3% of his field goals last season. This year, Bulovas has yet to attempt a field goal, but is perfect on his 14 extra points.
