Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1290311
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 26, 2020 37 BY TODD D. BURLAGE WAKE FOREST RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The good news for Wake Forest is that all but one member of last year's offensive line is back. The bad is that none of those guys carry the football. Gone are running back Cade Carney (620 yards) and quarterback Jamie Newman (574 yards), two of Wake's top three rushers last season. Back is sophomore Kenneth Walker III — the team's sec- ond-leading rusher in 2019 with 579 yards (5.9 per carry) and four touchdowns. Junior running back Christian Beal-Smith also returns after managing 304 yards in nine games last season on a team that finished a respectable 50th nationally in rushing at 175.7 yards per game. Expect Notre Dame's strength at run stoppage to come from depth within its front seven. The Irish have already rotated in at least 11 defensive lineman, along with a robust list of young and talented linebackers who complement senior stal- warts Drew White and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at the position. In their first outing of the season, the Fighting Irish limited Duke to a mere 75 yards on 30 at- tempts (2.6 yards per carry). Advantage: Notre Dame WAKE FOREST PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE The voids left after last season in Wake Forest's offense are massive and tough to fill. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Hartman takes over an unit that finished second in the ACC in passing offense and was 15th nationally in total offense with 464 yards per game last season. Newman, Wake's gifted starter last year, threw for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns. Hartman made four appearances in 2019 and passed for a respectable 830 yards with four scores and two interceptions. The worst news for the Wake passing game is that senior wide receiver Sage Surratt — on track to become one of the nation's best wideouts in 2020 — decided to opt out of his final year at Wake because of coronavirus concerns to prepare for the NFL Draft. Despite missing four games in 2019 with a shoul- der injury, Surratt still managed 66 catches, 1,001 receiving yards (111.2 yards per game) and 11 touchdowns in nine contests. The Deacons also lost Kendall Hinton, another 1,000-yard receiver from last season. Redshirt junior wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson and redshirt freshman wideout Taylor Morin have emerged as preferred targets for Hartman so far this season, but the game-breaking drop-off in this receiving unit is notable. For the Irish, head coach Brian Kelly said after Sophomore running back Kenneth Walker III, who compiled 579 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in 2019, is the leading returning rusher for the Demon Deacons. PHOTO BY WALT UNKS/COURTESY ACC MEDIA GAME PREVIEW: WAKE FOREST On PaPer