Why Grobe's Winning At Wake

In a development that lost its shock value years ago, the three ACC football teams in the Triangle have the three worst records in the conference. N.C. State is 3-5. North Carolina is 2-6. Duke is 1-7.

Meanwhile, down the road in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest is 6-2 and No. 21 in the Associated Press poll. The Demon Deacons, coming off a league championship last year, rank behind only Boston College and Virginia Tech among ACC teams.

Wake coach Jim Grobe obviously is getting the job done — at one of the losingest programs in the history of Division I-A football — again.

"I don't think there's any doubt, he's one of the best coaches anywhere," said legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who has been involved with college football since the 1950s. "We know that as well as anyone. Before he got there, I think our average margin of victory (over Wake) was about 35 points. Last year, they beat us 30-0 (in Tallahassee). I'd say something has changed up there, something big."

So how does Grobe do it? How does he win at one of the smallest schools in Division I-A football, especially considering that he's dealing with higher academic standards, a smaller stadium and less gridiron tradition than the overwhelming majority of his competition?

(1) Smart, well-coached players. Every football team, including Wake, misses tackles and makes other kinds of physical mistakes every week. Good teams keep mental mistakes to a minimum and rarely line up improperly or have missed assignments.

"They are as good as anyone at not beating themselves," Bowden said. "Their players are where they're supposed to be. That might save you a turnover on offense or a big play on defense in every game. A lot of times, those two plays are the difference between winning and losing. You might have a chance to beat (the Deacons), but they won't hand it to you. You're going to have to take it from them."

(2) The redshirting program. This has become famous by now. Of Wake's top 44 players on offense and defense, only two never redshirted. The other 42 had a full year, usually their first on campus, to develop physically, get acclimated academically and socially, and absorb the coaches' gridiron lessons without the pressure of performing on game days. Including punter and kicker, the Demon Deacons' 24 starters consist of eight fifth-year seniors, one true senior, eight fourth-year juniors, six third-year sophomores and one redshirt freshman. In other words, all but one starter is in at least his third year on campus.

“We talk about that with quarterbacks a lot. You mostly watch for two or three years, then you start," Grobe said. “The fact is, that approach works well for just about everybody. One of the reasons we try to redshirt everybody is, we say we’re looking for their best four years of football. I’ve still not sure I’ve ever seen a football player who’s better as an 18-year-old freshman than he is as a 22- or 23-year-old fifth-year senior.”

(3) Player retention. High graduation rates (common at Wake for many years) are always a feel-good story for the academics, but there is a football advantage to retaining players, too, as long as they have both decent talent and a strong understanding of what the coaches want. Some college coaches estimate that half of their players contemplate transfer at some point. At Wake, for whatever reasons, most of those players stay. A good example from this season is Kenny Moore, a fifth-year senior who has blossomed into an All-ACC wide receiver and dangerous punt returner, after mostly watching in frustration for his first three years with the Demon Deacons.

(4) Opportunistic play. Wake Forest beat UNC last week mainly with its defense (two interceptions, one for a touchdown) and special teams (two long kick returns, one for a TD, plus a fumble recovery on a punt). Virginia Tech, under Frank Beamer, calls that path to victory "BeamerBall." Maybe Grobe needs a nickname, too. Wake has scored nine touchdowns on defense (seven) or special teams (two) this season. Among the other 11 teams in the ACC, only the Hokies (six) have more than three non-offensive touchdowns.

"Most of the time, they don't overwhelm you. They're opportunistic," Bowden said. "If you make a mistake, they're going to take advantage of it. You might feel like you're outplaying them for a while, then you look at the scoreboard and you're a touchdown behind."

(5) Strong recruiting. At the beginning of Grobe's tenure, this mostly meant having a good eye for lesser-known talents who were good fits for the Demon Deacons' unique style. Now it's a combination of finding more hidden gems (e.g., quarterback Riley Skinner, linebacker Aaron Curry, punter/kicker Sam Swank) and winning head-to-head recruiting battles against other BCS-level programs for highly regarded prospects. Among Wake's starters, tailback Josh Adams, defensive end Jeremy Thompson and cornerback Alphonso Smith had lots of scholarship offers from other major programs. All three players are serious All-ACC candidates this fall.

"Winning gives you that opportunity," Grobe said. "If a kid's most interested in playing in front of 100,000 people, we're not going to get him. But if he wants to play in a BCS conference, and he wants to be challenged in the classroom and on the football field, we feel like we have a lot to offer here at Wake Forest."

(6) Staff stability. The tenures of Chuck Amato at N.C. State and John Bunting at North Carolina included uncommonly high turnover rates in the nine assistant coaching positions. Duke's Ted Roof has had some problems in this regard, too. At Wake, seven of Grobe's nine assistants have been with him for his entire seven-year tenure. Six of them also worked with Grobe at his previous stop, Ohio.

"Every (staff) change you make, it interrupts what you're doing in recruiting, and it interrupts what you're doing on the field," Grobe said. "I can't say enough about our coaches. They understand what we're all about here at Wake Forest, and they believe in what we're all about. I think recruits sense that, and they sense it from our players, too, and it makes them want to be a part of it."