CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2019 Wake Forest

8–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dave Clawson.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 2019, game by game: won vs. Utah State 38–35; won at Rice 41–21; won vs. North Carolina 24–18; won vs. Elon 49–7; won at Boston College 27–24; lost vs. Louisville 59–62; won vs. Florida State 22–20; won vs. NC State 44–10; lost at Virginia Tech 17–36; lost at No. 3 Clemson 3–52; won vs. Duke 39–27; lost at Syracuse 30–39; lost vs. Michigan State 21–27+42−49Won 38–35 vs. Utah State+3Utah StateWon 41–21 at Rice+20RiceWon 24–18 vs. North Carolina+6North CarolinaWon 49–7 vs. Elon+42ElonWon 27–24 at Boston College+3Boston CollegeLost 59–62 vs. Louisville-3LouisvilleWon 22–20 vs. Florida State+2Florida StateWon 44–10 vs. NC State+34NC StateLost 17–36 at Virginia Tech-19Virginia TechLost 3–52 at No. 3 Clemson-49No. 3 ClemsonWon 39–27 vs. Duke+12DukeLost 30–39 at Syracuse-9SyracuseLost 21–27 vs. Michigan State-6Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsUtah StateW 38–⁠3550%
Sep 6atRiceW 41–⁠2174%
Sep 13vsNorth CarolinaW 24–⁠1872%
Sep 21vsElonW 49–⁠782%
Sep 28atBoston CollegeW 27–⁠2451%
Oct 12vsLouisvilleL 59–⁠6278%
Oct 19vsFlorida StateW 22–⁠2066%
Nov 2vsNC StateW 44–⁠1066%
Nov 9atVirginia TechL 17–⁠3655%
Nov 16at3ClemsonL 3–⁠5212%
Nov 23vsDukeW 39–⁠2770%
Nov 30atSyracuseL 30–⁠3955%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsMichigan StatePinstripe BowlL 21–⁠2751%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 27–⁠21 in the Pinstripe Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 22
  2. Wk 7: 19
  3. Wk 9: 25
  4. Wk 10: 23
  5. Wk 11: 22
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 5th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 19
Points
414–⁠378
Coach
Dave Clawson
Elo
1542 −2 this season
SP+ rating
2.0 No. 55 of 130; offense No. 60, defense No. 68, special teams No. 33
SRS
3.1 No. 52 of 130 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 50 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 57 roster talent No. 66 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Warren Ruggiero
Defensive coordinator
Lyle Hemphill
Captains
Essang Bassey, Cade Carney, Jack Freudenthal, Justin Herron and Justin Strnad
Offense
Slow mesh
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense82nd of 130
  • Defense65th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted83rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted77th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0842%1.1282nd of 130
Defense0.1142%1.2065th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.11 def		41% off
42% def		—83rd off
77th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 2918% allowed
Defense3.7own 2820% caused

CORE rating -3.1, 78th of 130 (offense -1.6, defense 1.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJamie Newman QB2,868 yds
Passing touchdownsJamie Newman QB26 TD
Rushing yardsCade Carney RB620 yds
Rushing touchdownsJamie Newman QB6 TD
Receiving yardsKendall Hinton WR1,001 yds
Receiving touchdownsSage Surratt WR11 TD
TacklesRyan Smenda Jr. LB81 tkl
SacksCarlos Basham Jr. DL11 sacks
InterceptionsAmari Henderson DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Donavon Greene WR★★★★No. 257
Nolan Groulx WR★★★★No. 354
Shamar McCollum WDE★★★No. 456
Jeremiah Gray S★★★No. 780
Kendrell Flowers RB★★★No. 837

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.853
Running backs23.00.841
Receivers43.50.871
Offensive line13.00.847
Defensive line43.00.848
Linebackers23.00.846
Defensive backs33.00.854
Athletes and specialists43.00.834
Whole class213.10.850

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 5Justin Strnad OLBDenver Broncos
Rd 6Justin Herron OTNew England Patriots

Roster 109

The 2019 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠014–⁠12
Virginia6–⁠29–⁠5
Louisville5–⁠38–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Wake Forest5–⁠48–⁠5
Pittsburgh4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠46–⁠7
Miami4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠46–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
NC State1–⁠74–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.