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Small school coming up big in football
By The Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM � It's been
hard to take Wake Forest football seriously through the years. One of
the smallest Division I-A schools hasn't had three consecutive winning
seasons since the early 1950s and has won just 29 percent of its
Atlantic Coast Conference games.
That's all changed in just 26 games under Jim Grobe. After 6-5 and 7-6
seasons, the former Ohio University coach has the Demon Deacons 20th in
The Associated Press poll � the program's highest ranking in 24 years.
"It's maybe a little bit of a shock that it's happened so quickly,"
Grobe said this week. "I don't think people expected us to get on a fast
track after just three years here. But we're still a rebuilding program
right now. We're probably a little bit ahead of schedule."
It would be hard to convince some opponents that Grobe is rebuilding.
"You know what, he's got better players than people think he does,"
North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato said.
It's been a fun time for Grobe since picking up the paper Monday morning
and seeing Wake Forest in print in the Top 25.
"I really can't go anywhere right now without people saying
congratulations," Grobe said. "A lot of people aren't necessarily Wake
Forest people but they're Winston-Salem people and they appreciate
seeing a local school do well. You can generally tell the Wake Forest
fans because they can't stop thanking you."
Grobe has spent a few spare moments clearing his answering machine of
messages from well-wishers.
"It's kind of fun," he said. "You hear from people you haven't heard
from in quite a while tell you how excited they are for you. It's kind
of cool. And it must make Wake Forest fans and alums really feel a sense
of accomplishment to see this in football. We've kind of gotten used to
it in other sports � to see ourselves ranked highly. But in football,
it's special."
The Demon Deacons (2-0) haven't had a three-game winning streak since
1992, so Grobe won't let his team get cocky with its new ranking and
Purdue coming to town Saturday. In fact, Grobe believed in the preseason
his young team might start 0-3 with early games against Boston College,
N.C. State and the Boilermakers.
"We weren't dishonest with our football team," Grobe said. "We told them
no matter how we start it's important to finish. We wanted to take our
12 best shots, get better and push through the season."
So what has gone so right for his team in early September? For the most
part, the Demon Deacons have been error-free, gotten great play from new
starting quarterback Cory Randolph and shown a grit that Grobe didn't
expect to see until maybe late October.
"There is a new attitude on the team that we can do great things," star
running back Chris Barclay said. "We can see the real potential we have.
But now we have to show we deserve to be there and teams are going to
challenge that."
The players have gotten Grobe's message about remaining focused and how
fleeting success can be in college football.
"He's told us when you think you're almost ripe you're just about rotten
� just like fruit," Barclay said. "I'm sure a lot of guys around the
nation were saying, 'What's going on?' " Barclay said of his team's
ranking. "But just as fast as we've gotten in we can fall out even
faster."
Grobe was asked if his team would have a different attitude taking the
field Saturday.
"We're in trouble if we do," he said. "We've never taken anybody for
granted and we're in a little different role right now. We've got a
target on our chest. Once you jump into the Top 25, it becomes
motivation for other teams."
02/23/2007 11:02 AM
Copyright 2003
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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