Here is a scouting report on No. 20-ranked Wake Forest (6-2), who plays at No. 21 NC State (6-2) at 8 p.m. Saturday on ACC Network.
Five Wake Forest players to watch
Sophomore wide receiver Jahmal Banks
Banks has emerged this season as an unlikely deep threat for the Demon Deacons. The 6-foot-4, 208-pounder has only five catches for 98 yards last year, but teams now need to game plan for him. He has 29 catches for 408 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. He erupted for six receptions for 141 yards and two scores in the 51-45 double-overtime loss vs. Clemson on Sept. 24.
Redshirt junior quarterback Sam Hartman
The Charlotte, N.C., native is coming off his worst game of the season in the 48-21 loss at Louisville. He threw for 271 yards, but had one touchdown and three interceptions, plus three lost fumbles. Hartman has gone 144-of-228 passing for 2,026 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions this season. The 6-1, 210-pounder has thrown for 11,292 career yards, 94 touchdowns and 35 interceptions, plus 17 rushing scores at Wake Forest.
Sophomore safety Malik Mustapha
The physical 5-10, 205-pounder from Matthews (N.C.) Weddington started his college career at Richmond, and then transferred to Wake Forest after one year with the Spiders. His aggressiveness has shown with 47 tackles, which is second on the team. He also has six tackles for loss 2.5 sacks two forced fumbles this season. Mustapha had 13 tackles against Liberty and 10 at Louisville.
Redshirt junior wide receiver A.T. Perry
The tall, lanky 6-5, 205-pound Perry emerged last year as the next in line of quality wide receivers at Wake Forest. He caught 71 passes for 1,293 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. Perry has gotten more help this season, but he has 35 catches for 552 yards and five scores. Perry has topped 100-plus yards against both Army and Vanderbilt this season.
Senior linebacker Ryan Smenda Jr.
The 6-2, 235-pound Smenda has a team-high 59 tackles, with four tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. Smenda has 297 career tackles, 23 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and 4.5 sacks in 51 career games. Smenda has topped double figures in tackles in three games this season, with a season-high 12 against Army.
What to watch for from Wake Forest
1. Quarterback Sam Hartman spreads ball around. Wake Forest’s Hartman has found five different receivers for at least 23 receptions, and tight end Blake Whiteheart added 16 receptions for 208 yards and three touchdowns.
WFU has a blend of tall receivers and slot guys, and Hartman finds them like a point guard. Perry and Banks are both at least 6-4 and have a combined 13 touchdowns this season. Redshirt sophomore Donovan Greene is a serious deep threat at 6-2 and 210-pounds.
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Morin and sophomore Ke’Shawn Williams are both slot receivers and have a combined 46 receptions for 589 yards and four touchdowns.
2. The running attack has improved. The 2020 Demon Deacons had a different element when running back Kenneth Walker was healthy. Walker rushed 27 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-42 loss at NC State in 2020.
Walker left for Michigan State, where he became a major star and is now with the Seattle Seahawks, where he has 461 rushing yards and five touchdowns in seven games. That left Wake Forest with then freshman Justice Ellison and Christian Beal-Smith for 2021. Beal-Smith missed the NC State game last year due to injury, and has since transferred to South Carolina.
The one-two punch of Ellison and Michigan transfer Christian Turner, a junior, have provided balance this season. They have combined for 183 carries for 807 yards and nine touchdowns this season.
Ellison had 114 yards and a touchdown against Florida State on Oct. 1, and Turner had 100 yards and two scores against VMI on Sept. 1. Neither are involved much in the passing game.
3. How is Wake Forest’s defense? Wake Forest on paper has been pretty solid defensively, holding opponents to 21 points or less in four games.
Where Wake Forest runs into problems is that Clemson had 51, Louisville scored 48 and Liberty tallied 36 this season.
Liberty hurt Wake Forest with a balanced ground attack, rushing 39 times for 172 yards and two scores in the loss. They had a pair of 43-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter.
Louisville turned the turnovers into points, but former Tennessee transfer Tiyon Evans hurt WFU for 11 carries for 106 yards and one touchdown. The Cardinals finished with 38 carries for 211 yards and three scores.
Clemson gauged Wake Forest through the air and ground to win 51-45 in double overtime. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns, and running back had 104 yards and a score to finish with 45 carries for 188 yards and a touchdown.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. Can quarterback MJ Morris create magic? NC State freshman quarterback MJ Morris came alive in the second half against Virginia Tech.
He rallied the Wolfpack from an 18-point deficit to win 22-21 on Thursday Night Football, using the strength of his right arm. He finished 20-of-29 passing for 265 yards and three touchdowns against the Hokies.
The outburst has created hope for the Wolfpack offense that struggled to score touchdowns without injured quarterback Devin Leary. Wake Forest now has film and a certain expectation of NC State’s offense under Morris, and it will be interesting to see what adjustments get made.
2. NC State’s defense remains top shelf: Outside of a difficult third quarter against Virginia Tech, the NC State defense has played impressively the last three games.
That includes contest against VT, at Syracuse and Florida State. Those three teams scored a combined 62 points, with the Hokies getting 21 points in the third quarter. Virginia Tech wide receiver Kaleb Smith got deep twice and tight end Dae’Quan Wright got loose. The Demon Deacons will definitely take shots down the field.
NC State also limited Virginia Tech to just 50 rushing yards, and the Hokies starting running back got injured.
Florida State didn’t score a point in the second half, which helped spark the comeback to win 19-17. NC State’s defense did run into trouble guarding Syracuse wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II, who had eight receptions for 141 yards and two scores in a 24-9 Orange win. Wake Forest’s receivers Perry and Banks are similar to Gadsden in some ways.
3. Sack attack. NC State had four sacks against Virginia Tech, including two from outside linebacker Payton Wilson.
Louisville had eight sacks against Wake Forest, with eight different players recording one. The Cardinals combined some sneaky blitzes from defensive backs, and also pushed the Demon Deacons offensive line up the middle to get a direct path to quarterback Hartman.
Something is likely to give Saturday with NC State’s own pass rush against Wake Forest. If NCSU is creative with its pressure, odds are good that it could lead to turnovers, which is what happened in the Louisville game.
Three numbers of note
22 Consecutive weeks the Demon Deacons have been ranked in The Associated Press top 25 poll, which is tied for sixth in the country. Odds are good that if Wake Forest loses this Saturday, that streak would end.
74.1 Average plays per game for the Wake Forest offense, which has been the norm since 2017. Wake Forest has averaged between 74.1 plays and a high of 82.1 (2018) over the last six years. For comparison, Virginia Tech had 48 plays at NC State last game.
92.0 Pro Football Focus grade for backup defensive lineman Kobie Turner, which is the third-highest rating of any defensive player in the country. The Richmond transfer has 24 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, one sack and two forced fumbles this season.
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