Demon Deacons Fall to No. 8 Miami, 42-14

MIAMI — Despite it being a one-score game going into the fourth quarter, Wake Forest football (4-7, 2-5 ACC) dropped a 42-14 contest to No. 8 Miami (10-1, 6-1 SEC) on Saturday afternoon inside Hard Rock Stadium. Additionally, Saturday marked Wake Forest and Miami’s first meeting since 2013 and the first in head coach Dave Clawson‘s tenure. 

Wake Forest is the only ACC team this season to play three top-10 teams (Week 3: No. 5 Ole Miss; Week 7: No. 10 Clemson; Week 13: No. 8 Miami).

The contest featured multiple Wake Forest turnovers and the Demon Deacons became the first team all season to hold nationally-ranked Miami scoreless in the third quarter, making it just a 20-14 deficit well into the fourth stanza.

Individually, junior running back Demond Claiborne recorded a career-high 191 all-purpose yards (115 kick return, 62 rush, 14 receiving) as he tallied a 100 yard kickoff return for touchdown in the second quarter. Also on offense, redshirt senior Hank Bachmeier was under-center for the Demon Deacons and a 36-yard first quarter touchdown connection with redshirt freshman receiver Micah Mays Jr.

Defensively, the Deacs were led by redshirt freshman defensive back Davaughn Patterson’s

11 tackles as Wake Forest also recorded a pair of turnovers with redshirt junior linebacker Quincy Bryant recording his second-career interception and senior linebacker Branson Combs logging a fumble recovery. 

Additionally, senior defensive lineman Jasheen Davis recorded a sack, moving him to 25.5 sacks over the course of his career, which ranks third in program history. Davis also now had 49.0 tackles for loss over the course of his career, moving him into a tie for second place all-time in Wake Forest history with Nikita Whitlock (2010-13).

The Demon Deacons will look to bounce back in their regular season finale next Saturday when Wake Forest hosts Big Four rival Duke on Saturday, Nov. 30. Kickoff from Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m. on ACC Network.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Wake Forest won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. 
• Miami opened the scoring on the first drive of the afternoon, marching 84 yards on 13 plays for a 13-yard touchdown pass. 
• The Deacs, however, responded with a touchdown of their own on the offense’s first appearance of the afternoon, capping off a 75-yard drive with redshirt senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier finding redshirt freshman wide receiver Micah Mays Jr. alone for a 36-yard score.
  • On the drive, Bachmeier connected on 3-of-4 attempts for 58 yards while junior running back Demond Claiborne recorded 27 yards of offense (18 rushing, nine receiving). 
• The Hurricanes regained the lead at 10-7 with 1:52 remaining in the first quarter. Despite getting into down-and-distance position, the Deacs were able to hold Miami’s offense out of the end zone. 
• Miami would extend its lead with a 77-yard pick-six on the 17th play of Wake Forest’s second drive of the afternoon to make it 17-7 with 7:50 left in the second quarter. 
• The Demon Deacons immediately struck back, however, as Claiborne took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to the house to make it 17-14. 
• Wake recorded the first Demon Deacon forced turnover of the afternoon with three minutes remaining in the second quarter, as redshirt junior linebacker Quincy Bryant put himself into position to pick off a Cam Ward shovel pass.
  • The interception is the second of his career after recording one last season at Duke. 
• Miami took a 20-14 lead into halftime, as the Canes converted on a 25-yard field goal just before the break. 
• The Demon Deacons forced Miami into a punt midway through the third quarter, as senior defensive lineman Jasheen Davis logged sack No. 25.5 of his career on the drive, third-most in program history. 
• Wake Forest once again forced a turnover, as the Deacs blew up a screen pass before senior linebacker Branson Combs recorded the loose pigskin at the Miami 33-yard line. 
• The Deacs got great field position for their final offensive possession of the third quarter, as Wake forced a Miami three-and-out inside its own 10-yard line but ultimately was forced into a turnover on downs on a 4th-and-3 pass attempt. 
• Miami would take a 28-14 lead with 7:58 remaining in regulation, driving 43 yards in five plays to complete the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The Canes were also successful on their two-point try. 
• The Canes regained possession on the ensuing kickoff, recovering a Demon Deacons fumble. Three plays later, Miami struck with an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 35-14 with 6:24 left. 
•  Miami would score again late in the fourth quarter, as the game ended 42-14. 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

• Junior tailback Demond Claiborne produced another standout performance as he tallied a career-high 191 all-purpose yards, including 62 yards rushing on 19 carries. Additionally, the Aylett, Va. native hauled in two receptions for 14 receiving yards.
  • This marked the 12th time in the last 19 games that he has gone for 100 or more all-purpose yards and has now done so in four consecutive games:
    • Nov. 23, 2024 at Miami- 191 APR (62 RUSH, 14 RCV, 115 KR)
    • Nov. 17, 2024 at North Carolina – 123 APR (95 RUSH, 28 RCV)
    • Nov 8, 2024 vs. Cal – 172 APR (113 RUSH, 51 RCV, 8 KR)
    • Oct 26, 2024 at Stanford- 204 APR (127 RUSH, 10 RCV, 15 KR)
    • Oct 5, 2024 at NC State- 144 APR (136 RUSH, 10 RCV,)
    • Sept. 28, 2024 vs. Louisiana – 117 APR (94 RUSH, 10 RCV, 13 KR)
    • Sept. 7, 2024 vs. UVA – 128 APR (86 RUSH, 14, RCV, 28 KR)
    • Aug. 29, 2024 vs. NC A&T – 172 APR (135 RUSH, 37 KR)
    • Nov. 2, 2023 at Duke – 139 APR (81 RUSH, 58 KR)
    • Oct. 21, 2023 vs. Pitt – 137 APR (96 RUSH, 22 RCV, 19 KR) 
    • Oct. 14, 2023 at Virginia Tech- 100 APR (4 RUSH, 96 KR)
    • Sept. 9, 2023 vs. Vandy – 165 APR (165 RUSH)
  • His 1,463 all-purpose yards this season are the ninth most in program history and the second-most in the Clawson era, trailing just Greg Dortch in 2018 (1,750 all-purpose yards).
  • Claiborne goes into the final game of the season needing just 19 rushing yards to go over 1,000 for the season. He would become the first Wake Forest running back to do so since Cade Carney in 2018 and just the second Demon Deacon since Chris Barclay’s ACC Player of the Year season in 2005.
• He entered Saturday with 11 rushing touchdowns. He continues to move up single-season and career-total history charts during the Dave Clawson era as well as all-time school lore in many categories.

Clawson Era Single-Season Rushing Touchdowns

Clawson Era Single-Season Total Touchdowns

Clawson Era Career Rushing TDs

Clawson Era Career Total TDs

Believed to be the second player in program history to record two kickoff return touchdowns in his career. His second came on Saturday at No. 8 Miami – a 100-yard return in the second quarter. 

• His 100-yard return is tied for the longest play in program history, matching Alphonso Smith’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against Maryland in 2007. 

Additionally, below is a complete list of players with a kickoff return touchdown since 1996:

STAGGERING STATISTICS

• Through 11 games this season, Nick Andersen has been one of the best tacklers in the country and leads the Demon Deacons with 113 total tackles (10.2) which is 28 more than the next closest player on the team.
  • Andersen became the first Demon Deacon with 100 tackles in a season with Ryan Smenda Jr. in 2022.
  • His 113 tackles are the fourth-most in the Clawson era:
    • 1. Ryan Smenda Jr. (2022) – 117
    • 2. Ryan Janvion (2014) – 115
    • 3. Nick Andersen (2024) – 113
    • 4. Brandon Chubb (2015) – 107
    • T5. Marquel Lee (2016) – 105
    • T5. Justin Strnad (2019) – 105
• In addition to leading the team in this category, Andersen also is the ACC leader with the next closest player totaling 97 tackles this season. Andersen’s 113 total tackles also ranks fifth nationally:
   

Rank                                                          School                                   GP          Total Tackles
1. Shaun Dolac                                           Buffalo                                   10            137
2. Red Murdock                                          Buffalo                                   10            126
5. Nick Andersen                                      Wake Forest                         11            113
3. Travion Barnes                                       FIU                                         9               109
4. Carson Schwesinger                              UCLA                                    10            108
6. Colin Ramos                                           Navy                                     10            102
T7. Jacob Rodriguez                                 Texas Tech                             10            101
T7. Isaac Smith                                          Miss. State                             9               101
9. Jackson Woodward                                UNLV                                   10            99
T10. Two tied                                               N/A                                       N/A         98

FROM COACH CLAWSON
“Credit to Miami and Coach [Mario] Cristobal they are a very, very talented football team. I was really proud of how hard our guys played. We got that thing to the fourth quarter as a one-score game. Obviously, it got away from us at the end with a turnover and some big plays. Our plan into the game was to try to make it a low-possession game. We were going to go for it on fourth down. We had to hold them to field goals in the red zone. Going into the half, we had them exactly where we wanted them and then we just didn’t take advantage of opportunities in the third quarter when we had the ball at midfield. With Miami and their offense, it’s a matter of time. I thought our defense played really, really well. In the fourth quarter, when the dam broke, it broke. That’s what good teams do. They’re a good football team and certainly have a great chance of winning the ACC.” 

UP NEXT
The Deacs close the regular season against Big Four rival Duke on Saturday, Nov. 30. Kickoff from Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m. on ACC Network.

With that, fans are encouraged to make their plans now to join Wake Forest football on Rivalry Weekend inside Allegacy Stadium for the final home game of the 2024 football season on Saturday, Nov. 30 when Coach Clawson’s squad takes on Big Four rival Duke. In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, Wake Forest Athletics is proud to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina as we have a unique ticket deal where $15 from every promotional ticket sold will go directly to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund. Additionally, this game will serve as Wake Forest’s Fan Appreciation Day game with a myriad of fun promotions for Deacon Nation.