Wake suffering from stale second half offenses

Wake Forest has fallen behind in consecutive games after building double-figure leads. The Demon Deacons saw a 14-point second half lead disappear against Duke, though they rallied to win amid unusual circumstances. Wake had one first down in the second half. "It was a good time to get it," quarterback Tanner Price said, referring to the game-winning touchdown pass play of 66 yards to receiver Chris Givens. "We just knew we had to make plays in general." The Demon Deacons went three-and-out in three consecutive possessions to open the second half. By the time they ran their 10th play, it was midway through the fourth quarter. Givens avoided several would-be tacklers on that play to reach the end zone. Even though the Demon Deacons haven't been stable with leads the past couple of weeks, their defense has received kudos for its effort. The offense has been at issue, coach Jim Grobe said, by not sustaining drives and putting the defense back on the field too often. And even after Givens' go-ahead touchdown play, there were concerns because the defense was back on the field so quickly. The Demon Deacons went three-and-out on five of their six possessions in the second half. The offense has become stale after early success in games. Wake Forest outgained Duke 123-30 in the first quarter, then tailed off considerably.