# 2019 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The 2019 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Dave Clawson, and played their home games at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

## Preseason
### Preseason media poll

In the preseason ACC media poll, Wake Forest was predicted to finish in sixth in the Atlantic Division.
Media poll (Atlantic Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Clemson | 1209 (171) |
| 2 | Syracuse | 913 (2) |
| 3 | Florida State | 753 |
| 4 | NC State | 666 |
| 5 | Boston College | 588 |
| 6 | Wake Forest | 462 |
| 7 | Louisville | 253 |

## Schedule

Wake Forest's 2019 schedule began with four non-conference games: at home against Utah State of the Mountain West Conference, on the road against Rice of Conference USA, at home against North Carolina, and at home against Elon of the Colonial Athletic Association. The game against North Carolina, a fellow member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, was played as a non-conference game and therefore did not count in the league standings. This was done because the two rivals otherwise only play once every six years due to the current ACC divisional alignment.
In ACC play, Wake Forest played the other members of the Atlantic Division, as well as Virginia Tech and Duke from the Coastal Division.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 8:00 p.m. | Utah State* | | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC | ACCN | W 38–35 | 29,027 |
| September 6 | 8:00 p.m. | at Rice* | | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | CBSSN | W 41–21 | 17,567 |
| September 13 | 6:00 p.m. | North Carolina* | | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC (rivalry) | ESPN | W 24–18 | 31,345 |
| September 21 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 22 (FCS) Elon* | | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC | ACCRSN | W 49–7 | 24,079 |
| September 28 | 3:30 p.m. | at Boston College | | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | ACCN | W 27–24 | 39,352 |
| October 12 | 7:30 p.m. | Louisville | No. 19 | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC | ACCN | L 59–62 | 24,434 |
| October 19 | 7:30 p.m. | Florida State | | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC | ACCN | W 22–20 | 24,782 |
| November 2 | 12:00 p.m. | NC State | No. 23 | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC (rivalry) | ESPN | W 44–10 | 31,119 |
| November 9 | 3:30 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | No. 19 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | L 17–36 | 65,632 |
| November 16 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 3 Clemson | | Memorial StadiumClemson, SC | ABC | L 3–52 | 80,875 |
| November 23 | 7:30 p.m. | Duke | | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC (rivalry) | ACCN | W 39–27 | 24,130 |
| November 30 | 12:30 p.m. | at Syracuse | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ACCRSN | L 30–39 $^{OT}$ | 33,719 |
| December 27 | 3:20 p.m. | vs. Michigan State* | | Yankee StadiumBronx, NY (Pinstripe Bowl) | ESPN | L 21–27 | 36,895 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Utah State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Demon Deacons | 10 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 38 |

### At Rice

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Demon Deacons | 14 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
| Owls | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tar Heels | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 18 |
| Demon Deacons | 7 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 24 |

### Elon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 (FCS) Phoenix | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Demon Deacons | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

### At Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Demon Deacons | 10 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| Eagles | 0 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 21 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 62 |
| No. 19 Demon Deacons | 7 | 14 | 10 | 28 | 59 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 0 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| Demon Deacons | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 22 |

### NC State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolfpack | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 23 Demon Deacons | 21 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 44 |

### At Virginia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Demon Deacons | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Hokies | 3 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 36 |

### At Clemson

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Demon Deacons | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 3 Tigers | 14 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 52 |

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 7 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
| Demon Deacons | 3 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 39 |

### At Syracuse

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Demon Deacons | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 30 |
| Orange | 10 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 39 |

### vs Michigan State (Pinstripe Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 10 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| Demon Deacons | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Position | Name | First Year at Wake |
| Head coach | Dave Clawson | 2014 |
| Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks | Warren Ruggiero | 2014 |
| Defensive coordinator / Safeties | Lyle Hemphill | 2017 |
| Asst head coach / Receivers | Kevin Higgins | 2014 |
| Special teams coordinator / tight ends | Wayne Lineburg | 2017 |
| Defensive Line | Dave Cohen | 2014 |
| Running backs | John Hunter | 2014 |
| Offensive Line | Nick Tabacca | 2014 |
| Outside Linebackers | Brad Sherrod | 2017 |
| Cornerbacks | Ryan Crawford | 2018 |
| Inside Linebackers | Tyler Santucci | 2019 |
| Source: |||

### Roster
## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | RV | RV | 22 | 19 | RV | 25 | 23 | 22 | RV | — | — | — | | |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | RV | 24 | 20 | 17 | RV | 23 | 22 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | — | | |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 19 | — | — | — | | | Not released |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 5 | 178 | Justin Strnad | OLB | Denver Broncos |
| 6 | 195 | Justin Herron | OT | New England Patriots |
Source: