Three And Out: FSU-Wake Forest

This week's Three And Out is by Zach who has a Wake blog, Old Gold & Blog, the only Wake Forest sports blog on the web. Zach is a current student at Wake Forest and has been covering Demon Deacon athletics since fall 2007. Thanks to Zach for answering my questions.

1. FSU fans know about Riley Skinner and Sam Swank. What other Wake player would you say is critical to the team but under the radar?

I don't know if you could say they're truly under the radar, but since you didn't mention them my first answer would be CB Alphonso Smith and LB Aaron Curry. These guys are the two keys to Wake's defense, with Smith being excellent in pass coverage (as well as being a pretty solid return man) and Curry making tackles all over the field. They're definitely two guys Florida State's offense will have to keep track of if they want to have success.

As for someone who has truly been under the radar until this season, I'd go with WR D.J. Boldin, who hasn't been an integral part of the offense until this season. He has a emerged with 18 catches and 156 yards in two games. TE Ben Wooster has also had a big start to the season, with 12 catches for 124 yards. Both are big factors in Wake's passing game


2. What part of FSU's team do you think concerns Jim Grobe the most? Conversely, what part of Wake's team do you think poses the biggest problem for the Noles?

I'm most worried about Florida State's run defense. Not only has the front seven proved to be pretty good in the first two game (against weak opponents, sure, but good nonetheless), but Wake's running game has struggled mightily to start the season. Much of that is due to a young and inexperienced offensive line, who showed some improvement in game two, but I don't think Wake's going to have a lot of success on the ground.

Wake's passing attack has been very good so far, and I think there are some question marks in Florida State's secondary. I think they'll have some difficulty containing the passing attack.


3. How successful has Wake been with quarterbacks that can run the ball well?

Already this season Wake has faced a very mobile, run-oriented quarterback against Baylor, and another pretty elusive one against Ole Miss, although he didn't actually try to run the ball all that much. Against Baylor Wake handled the task pretty well, so I think they'll be ready for it. The defense has a lot of speed and is always good at swarming the ball, so I think they can handle it. We'll see how it plays out on the field.