Dabo has harsh words for those who think Wake Forest isn’t an ACC contender

Dabo Swinney held his most passionate news conference of the season Tuesday, issuing harsh words for anyone suggesting that Clemson, a team favored by 22 points over Wake Forest, might have its way with the Demon Deacons on Saturday.

“I’ll just tell you right out of the gate, this is a very, very good football team that we’re getting ready to play,” Swinney said. “And if anybody says anything different, then you have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about.”

There is evidence to suggest that Swinney might be right.

Wake Forest is off to a 4-1 start and narrowly missed upsetting Florida State last weekend, falling 26-19 after holding a fourth-quarter lead.

The Demon Deacons have made steady progress under coach Dave Clawson, going 3-9 in each of his first two seasons before finishing 7-6 with a bowl victory last year.

“We have not played a single team, and we probably won’t play another team, that plays as hard as this Wake Forest football team we’re getting ready to play,” Swinney said. “So if there’s any inclination that people like to create that this team right here is not a legit contender for our division, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The players that Clawson signed early in his tenure are now upperclassmen and performing well.

Fifteen of Wake Forest’s 22 starters are juniors or seniors. that includes senior quarterback John Wolford, who leads Wake Forest with 332 rushing yards and four touchdowns and has passed for 947 yards and eight scores.

Wolford didn’t play last season against Clemson and the Demon Deacons were within two touchdowns in the fourth quarter before falling 35-13.

“I think (Clawson) has really done a good job of articulating his vision for the program – who they are, how they’re going to do things and they just stuck to that. They know who they’re trying to evaluate and recruit,” Swinney said.

Wake Forest has outscored its opponents by an average of 20 points per game and ranks 12^th nationally in scoring defense, holding teams to 14.4 points.

Wake Forest’s strength is its defensive front. The Demon Deacons lead the country in tackles for loss with 50, and recorded 17 last week against the Seminoles.

“They know what they’re doing. They really create some problems with their style of play. They’re good tacklers … They’ve got more depth than Virginia Tech up front, way more depth. This is a very talented defensive line,” Swinney said. “They have the type of depth that Auburn had up front.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Dabo has harsh words for those who think Wake Forest isn’t an ACC contender."