President George W. Bush was in attendance on Saturday in Dallas as the SMU Mustangs hosted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons for an ACC football clash.
‘W’ was treated to an utterly dominant, one-sided, complete victory by the visitors from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“There’s no denying it at this point: Wake Forest is a problem,” The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel wrote. “A day after locking in coach Jake Dickert with an extension, the 13th-ranked Demon Deacons (9-1, 6-1 ACC) traveled to SMU (7-3, 5-3 ACC), went up 42-0 at halftime and won 49-7. Wake has won seven straight while averaging 49 points per game.”
And with the win, Wake Forest will be hoping that the College Football Playoff committee continues to gain respect for them.
There are two weeks left in the regular season for the Demon Deacons. They’ll play at Georgia Tech next week — with the Yellow Jackets coming off a win over Clemson — before hosting Duke in the regular season finale with a lot potentially on the line.
Wake Forest still has a path to the ACC title game and probably needs it to make the CFP.
Here’s what you need to know.
Wake Forest College Football Playoff Chances
Wake Forest can’t really afford another loss. They entered Saturday at No. 13 in the CFP rankings, and while they should move up a spot after No. 11 Kentucky lost, there isn’t a lot of margin for error for the Demon Deacons.
“The knock on Dickert’s team is its schedule,” Mandel writes. “The only current top 25 team it’s faced is Miami, which beat the Deacons 33-20 on their home field. But SMU came in at 7-2 and had been ranked most of the season. Wake treated the Mustangs like they were 2-7.”
But if Wake Forest wins out, the CFP should beckon. That’s in part because Wake Forest could get a shot at redemption against Miami in the ACC title game, and a win there would surely push the Demon Deacons into the 12-team field.
“Because of the schedule, Wake might still need to win the ACC championship to earn a Playoff berth (presumably by beating Miami), but if I’m the committee, I’d have a hard time finding 12 teams more impressive,” Mandel writes.
Presidential Show
If President George W. Bush likes points, hopefully he got to his seat in time.
Wake Forest put up 42 points in the first half at SMU, the first 42 of the game, absolutely obliterating the home team’s chances.
Dickert’s halftime comments to the broadcast team suggested he wanted a lot more, but Wake Forest actually put it into cruise control and ended the day with 49 points. They had already done plenty in a brilliant first-half display.
Wake Forest’s College Football Playoff Chances Take Shape