Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM ó Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe calls it “embarrassing.” Tight end Andrew Parker declared the game still “haunts us.”
The Demon Deacons were unbeaten in the ACC midway through last season, coming off a big win a week earlier, and ranked 19th when they traveled to Maryland and were schooled 26-0 by the Terrapins.
“I thought Maryland played really well, but embarrassed is a good word to use for us,” Grobe said.
Fast forward 51 weeks and the Demon Deacons (3-2, 1-1) are in a similar spot. They won a thriller against North Carolina State a week earlier and are double-digit favorites to keep the good times going today when they host the Terrapins (2-3, 1-0) on homecoming in Winston-Salem.
Only this is the ACC, where things don’t seem to go as expected. Just last week Virginia stunned North Carolina, Boston College beat Florida State and Maryland ó yes, these Terrapins ó knocked off Clemson.
“And most people thought N.C. State would beat the Deacs,” Grobe said. “There’s no way to guess what’s going to happen from week to week and you just have to prepare the players the best you can.”
Grobe’s preparation has changed dramatically since the season opener. Acknowledging he erred in trying to focus on the running game in a loss to Baylor, Grobe has let Riley Skinner air it out. The senior quarterback has set a career high in yards passing in three consecutive games.