What Wake Forest Said After the NC State Loss

Usually, when we do these columns covering the post-game comments for Wake Forest football, we narrow the scope to the players. In most cases, we have used plenty of “column inches” in the game analysis for the coach’s comments. But Jake Dickert had so much more to say after the 34-24 loss to NC State. It was more than what we could include in the post-game article, as the clock was well past midnight, and a small handful of reporters were still occupying the press box. So let’s take a look at what Wake Forest said after the NC State loss, including more from the head coach himself.

After the NC State Loss

Jake Dickert

After making the clear assessment that the second half of the game was a bad half of football, Dickert said he was still proud of the team, declaring that they are better now than they were two weeks ago. “I don’t want them to be lost in tonight.”

We covered, in the post-game analysis, Dickert’s assessment of quarterback Robby Ashford, not so much for the plays on the field, but for his reactions after the plays. It was reminiscent of times during camp when he would hang his head and isolate himself after a bad play. “He’s got to be mature enough as a competitor to go out there and represent us the right way.”

He talked about what it is going to look like at the end of this week.  “There’s going to be a lot of learns from this tape,” he said. “But we have to be mature enough to come back on Sunday after a couple of days off and watch ourselves doing bad things that end up costing you the game.”

He said the coaching staff will self-scout themselves as well as the players. Looking at the players over the bye means personnel changes are not out of the question. “Who do we need to get the ball to? Who needs to play more and who needs to play less?” He said this will be a culture test to see who stays together in challenging times.

George Steih

The offensive lineman talked about the mental and emotional state of the team as the second half unraveled. “If someone’s not feeling good or they’re down in the dumps, it can affect other people. So, that’s one thing we try to do on the sideline that we’ve talked about before, is like being positive, extremely positive when things may not be going right on the field.”

Dylan Hazen

The senior linebacker talked about what it was like in the second half as NC State put up 17 points. “I think it’s kind of the defense trying to do more than just what your job is,” he said. Hazen said that when the defense stuck to the fundamentals, the result was good. But when there were players trying to do more than that, “We were letting the edges go and obviously, in the run game we were just getting creased here and there.”

He added later, when asked about trying to maintain a mobile quarterback like NC State’s CJ Bailey, that the over effort by the defense cost the Deacs. “I think that goes back to just trying to do more than our job,” he opined. “Just trying, holding those edges, keeping that containment. Like you know, when we have an ability to make a play, make a play.”

Nick Anderson

He was in the press conference room while Hazen was speaking. That is not unheard of it, but it is rare. Usually, the players come in one at a time. But it was clear watching Anderson’s body language that the sixth-year defensive back was still stewing over the loss.

“Going into halftime, we felt good about all phases of the game,” he said. “I just think we got out-executed, to be honest with you, in the second half.”

He said it should not change the way players practice because he expects everyone to bring their best every day, regardless of what happened in the previous game. “We can go two directions from it. We can just be defeated and let all of the work we did in the offseason mean nothing. Or we can come back and grow from it and have a great year.”

Conor O’Neill of On3 calculated after the game that Wake Forest had 253 yards over its first 31 plays on offense (8.1 yards per play). They managed only 58 yards over the final 26 plays on offense (2.2 yards per play). Anderson was not placing blame on the offense not getting first downs, and the defense having to spend so much of the half on the field. “It’s a team game and we all signed up for it.”

Next

Because it is a bye week coming up, there is no weekly press conference with Dickert planned. And access to practice and players next week is very TBD. That would mean not hearing from quarterback Robby Ashford about his thoughts on his performance and the game overall. By the time the team and the media reconvene, it will be about the re-dedication to hard work and the focus on what is ahead. And that’s fine. It is supposed to get to that point. But the Deacs have a long weekend and week ahead full of self-reflection, because this loss didn’t have to happen.

And this likely sounds trivial and was probably an oversight. But from his introductory press conference, through every press gaggle in Spring and Fall camps, to every weekly and post-game press conference during the season, Dickert ended his time behind the microphone with a robust, Go Deacs!” With as downtrodden as the team was feeling Thursday night, there was no such proclamation from the head coach. Certainly, it is a trivial oversight that few, if any, caught. But it certainly was symbolic of the tone Thursday night.