# 2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The 2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Demon Deacons were led by Dave Clawson in his tenth year as head coach. They played their home games at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team drew an average home attendance of 30,609 in 2023.

## Offseason
### Players drafted into the NFL

| Player | Position | Team | Round | Pick |
| Kobie Turner | DE | Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 89 |
| A. T. Perry | WR | New Orleans Saints | 6 | 195 |

### Transfers
#### Outgoing

| Player | Position | Destination |
| Jackson Hensley | WR | Eastern Kentucky |
| Christian Turner | RB | Indiana |
| Zavier Simpson | WR | Ball State |
| Brett Griffis | QB | James Madison |
| J.J. Roberts | CB | Marshall |
| Gavin Holmes | CB | Texas |
| Quinton Cooley | RB | Liberty |
| Rondell Bothroyd | DL | Oklahoma |
| Dez Williams | WR | Stony Brook |
| Sam Hartman | QB | Notre Dame |
| Bernard Gooden | DL | South Florida |

#### Incoming

| Player | Position | Previous school |
| Bryce Ganious | DL | Villanova |
| Walker Merrill | WR | Tennessee |
| Jacob Roberts | ILB | North Carolina A&T |

## Schedule

Wake Forest and the ACC announced the 2023 football schedule on January 30, 2023. The 2023 season will be the conference's first season since 2004, that its scheduling format just includes one division. The new format sets Wake Forest with three set conference opponents, while playing the remaining ten teams twice (home and away) in a four–year cycle. The Demon Deacons three set conference opponents for the next four years is; Duke, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | Elon* | Allegacy Federal Credit Union StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | ACCN | W 37–17 | 30,028 |
| September 9 | 11:00 a.m. | Vanderbilt* | Allegacy Federal Credit Union StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | ACCN | W 36–20 | 28,363 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | at Old Dominion* | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA | ESPN2 | W 27–24 | 18,276 |
| September 23 | 6:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech | Allegacy Federal Credit Union StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | The CW | L 16–30 | 32,528 |
| October 7 | 3:30 p.m. | at Clemson | Memorial StadiumClemson, SC | ACCN | L 12–17 | 80,810 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | L 13–30 | 65,632 |
| October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh | Allegacy Federal Credit Union StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | ACCN | W 21–17 | 31,855 |
| October 28 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 4 Florida State | Allegacy Federal Credit Union StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | ABC | L 16–41 | 31,288 |
| November 2 | 7:30 p.m. | at Duke | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC (rivalry) | ESPN | L 21–24 | 18,277 |
| November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | NC State | Allegacy Federal Credit Union StadiumWinston-Salem, NC (rivalry) | The CW | L 6–26 | 29,591 |
| November 18 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 19 Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | L 7–45 | 77,622 |
| November 25 | 2:00 p.m. | at Syracuse | JMA Wireless DomeSyracuse, NY | The CW | L 31–35 | 35,018 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Elon

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Phoenix | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| Demon Deacons | 10 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 37 |
at Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC
* Date: August 31, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 30,028
* TV: ACCN
Game information :
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Win Probability
Line
Over/Under :
| Statistics | ELON | WAKE |
| First downs | 13 | 22 |
| Total yards | 251 | 427 |
| Rushing yards | 104 | 98 |
| Passing yards | 149 | 327 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:50 | 28:10 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Elon | Passing | Justin Allen | 18/29, 130 yards, 2 INT |
| Elon | Rushing | Jalen Hampton | 15 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD |
| Elon | Receiving | Jordan Bonner | 7 catches, 58 yards |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Mitch Griffis | 19/30, 329, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Wake Forest | Rushing | Demond Claiborne | 13 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD |
| Wake Forest | Receiving | Jahmal Banks | 6 catches, 108 yards, 1 TD |

### Vanderbilt

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| Wake Forest | 3 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 36 |
at Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC
* Date: September 9, 2023
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
* Game attendance: 28,363
* Referee: Lee Hendrick
* TV announcers (ACCN): Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Hutson Mason (analyst), Lericia Harris (sideline)
| Statistics | VAN | WAKE |
| First downs | 21 | 29 |
| Total yards | 423 | 484 |
| Rushing yards | 109 | 288 |
| Passing yards | 314 | 196 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 25:43 | 34:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Vanderbilt | Passing | AJ Swann | 26/39, 314 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Vanderbilt | Rushing | Patrick Smith | 10 carries, 77 yards |
| Vanderbilt | Receiving | London Humphreys | 4 receptions, 109 yards, TD |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Mitch Griffis | 17/26, 196 yards, 2 TD |
| Wake Forest | Rushing | Demond Claiborne | 26 carries, 165 yards |
| Wake Forest | Receiving | Ke'Shawn Williams | 5 receptions, 92 yards, TD |

### at Clemson

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wake Forest | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Clemson | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
at Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC
* Date: October 7, 2023
* Game time: 3:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: NW @ 10 mph (16 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 80,810
* Referee: Jerry Magallanes
* TV announcers (ACCN): Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (color), Sherree Burruss (sideline)
* Sources:
| Statistics | WAKE | CLEM |
| First downs | 18 | 19 |
| Total yards | 239 | 338 |
| Rushing yards | 102 | 207 |
| Passing yards | 137 | 131 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:39 | 31:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Mitch Griffis | 15/25, 137 yards |
| Wake Forest | Rushing | Demond Claiborne | 19 rushes, 60 yards, 1 TD |
| Wake Forest | Receiving | Jahmal Banks | 8 receptions, 55 yards |
| Clemson | Passing | Cade Klubnik | 18/28, 131 yards |
| Clemson | Rushing | Will Shipley | 19 rushes, 97 yards, 1 TD |
| Clemson | Receiving | Beaux Collins | 5 receptions, 50 yards |

### at Virginia Tech

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wake Forest | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Virginia Tech | 0 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 30 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: October 14, 2023
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 65,632
* Referee: Stuart Mullins
* TV: ACCN
| Statistics | WF | VT |
| First downs | 20 | 21 |
| Total yards | 262 | 462 |
| Rush yards | 35 | 141 |
| Passing yards | 227 | 321 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 27:08 | 32:52 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Michael Kern | 14/22, 166 yards |
| Wake Forest | Rushing | Justice Ellison | 11 carries, 35 yards |
| Wake Forest | Receiving | Taylor Morin | 7 receptions, 86 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Kyron Drones | 20/29, 321 yards, 2 TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Kyron Drones | 15 carries, 59 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Jaylin Lane | 3 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD |

### NC State

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| WAKE –0.5 | 42.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolfpack | 7 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 26 |
| Demon Deacons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC
* Date: November 11, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m EST
* Game attendance: 29,591
* TV announcers (CW): Tom Werme (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst), and Treavor Scales (sideline)
Game information :
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Win Probability
Line
Over/Under :
| Statistics | NCSU | WAKE |
| First downs | 19 | 8 |
| Total yards | 379 | 163 |
| Rushing yards | 268 | 7 |
| Passing yards | 111 | 156 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 40:16 | 19:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| NC State | Passing | Brennan Armstrong | 12–17, 113 yards, 1 TD |
| NC State | Rushing | Brennan Armstrong | 15 rushes, 96 yards, 1 TD |
| NC State | Receiving | Dacari Collins | 2 receptions, 40 yards |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Michael Kern | 14–26, 137 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Wake Forest | Rushing | Demond Claiborne | 8 rushes, 12 yards |
| Wake Forest | Receiving | Horatio Fields | 3 receptions, 31 yards |

### at No. 19 Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wake Forest | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 19 Notre Dame | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
at Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN
* Date: November 18, 2023
* Game time: 3:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 50 °F (10 °C)
* Game attendance: 77,622
* Referee: Tim Hedgepeth
* TV announcers (NBC): Jac Collinsworth (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), and Zora Stephenson (reporter)
| Statistics | WAKE | ND |
| First downs | 14 | 25 |
| Total yards | 232 | 450 |
| Rushes/yards | 36–134 | 30–137 |
| Passing yards | 98 | 313 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 12–21–0 | 24–34–0 |
| Time of possession | 31:27 | 28:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Wake Forest | Passing | Michael Kern | 11/20, 81 yards |
| Wake Forest | Rushing | Ellison Justice | 15 carries, 63 yards |
| Wake Forest | Receiving | Jahmal Banks | 5 receptions, 35 yards |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Sam Hartman | 21/29, 277 yards, 4 TD |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Audric Estimé | 22 carries, 115 yards, TD |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Rico Flores Jr. | 8 receptions, 102 yards |

### at Syracuse
## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 4 | 124 | Malik Mustapha | S | San Francisco 49ers |
| 5 | 174 | Caelen Carson | CB | Dallas Cowboys |
| 7 | 230 | Michael Jurgens | C | Minnesota Vikings |
Source: