Grobe has turned Wake into a legitimate winner

FACEOFF: Wake Forest football: Overrated or underrated?

By Ken Burger (Contact)

The Post and Courier

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Underestimate the Demon Deacons at your own risk.

Wake Forest is no longer just a basketball school that plays football. And it is not only a football school, but a championship football school.

Jim Grobe has turned Wake into a winner in less time and with fewer resources than Tommy Bowden has had at Clemson.

Sapakoff's Take

The Deacons look good because the ACC isn't

That makes the Deacons, once considered a patsy on the league schedule, a legitimate, perennial contender for the ACC championship title that has eluded the Tigers since 1991.

A shrewd redshirting strategy means Grobe currently has 13 members of his 2004 recruiting class playing as fifth-year seniors.

That's just one of the reasons he turned down offseason offers from high-expectation football factories like Arkansas and Nebraska. While that may sound ludicrous to old-style helmet heads, it's a practical fact of life in today's world.

Grobe knows his chances of making a BCS bowl are better in Winston-Salem than they are in Fayetteville or Lincoln. Players know that too.

Granted, the ACC can be a mixed bag these days, but the reality is that Wake Forest is now a league powerhouse. And if Wake can do it, why not Duke?

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5598.

Share this story:

E-mail this story

Printer-friendly version

Notice about comments:
The Post and Courier is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Charleston.net does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our Web site.
Full terms and conditions can be read here.

Comments

This article has 5 comment(s)

Posted by SCdeacinNYC on October 7, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Our team has been a little uneven in its play ...which as a fan is annoying, the Navy game for one was just painful to watch. BUT, as someone who went there in the 2001-2005 period when we mostly sucked and knowing people who graduated from Wake when they only won 1 game...I would say it's been a huge turnaround and boost for our small school.

Considering that we rarely get recruits rated higher than "three stars", what Grobe did is real.

Posted by bigriver1 on October 7, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Jim Grobe is in the top ten best coaches in the country! How Wake keeps him is beyond me. As long as Grobe is at Wake they will be for real every year.

Posted by sbs920 on October 7, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

wow, acutal good posting by big douche? go figure?

Posted by JRob on October 7, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm also amazed at River's coherent post. I'd even put Grobe in the top five.

Posted by sbs920 on October 8, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Jrob, Big Douche must have learn "cut & paste" in his Intro to Computers class or just read it in "Computers for Dummies" coloring book.

Big Douche = Richard Cranium