Wake Forest treks to Stanford, shooting for .500 mark

Urgency exists for Wake Forest to make the most of a trip to the West Coast.

The Demon Deacons (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) take on host Stanford (2-5, 1-3) on Saturday. Wake Forest has won two of its last three games but must continue climbing out of an early hole to approach bowl eligibility.

"For us, to get a fourth win and go out there and get it before the bye week is very important if we want to get where we want to get," Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said.

Stanford will play on homecoming a week after getting crushed at home to nationally ranked SMU. The Cardinal, losers of four straight, also got blown out by Clemson, which is now in the Top 10.

"I look at Stanford as a good team with a hard schedule," Clawson said. "Sometimes your record is a function of what your schedule is."

Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier will play in his home state. His brother Tiger Bachmeier is a Stanford receiver.

But the big question involving the Cardinal might be at quarterback. Freshman quarterback Elijah Brown of Stanford came on in relief in the SMU game, throwing for a touchdown and two interceptions. He took the place of Ashton Daniels, a junior.

"We're not sure what quarterback we're going to see," Clawson said.

Stanford coach Troy Taylor said Brown has been making strides.

"We kind of brought him along," Taylor said. "He has had a lot of reps through fall camp. I think he'll continue to feel more comfortable."

Stanford's 133 yards per game on the ground aren't enough, in Taylor's opinion.

"We've got to run the football to help our quarterbacks," he said.

Stanford has been aggressive on offense, attempting 24 fourth-down plays (second most nationally) and converting 12 times.

Wake Forest has posted narrow victories in its only two road outings, rallying past North Carolina State 34-30 and holding off Connecticut, 23-20. Stanford is 1-3 at home.

"We have a tough stretch of really good opponents," Taylor said. "We have another opportunity to play another home game."

Wake Forest is trying to win for the 15th time in its last 20 October games, dating to the 2020 season.

This will be the third all-time meeting between the teams, which each won at home when they met in 2009 and 2010 nonconference games. Stanford's victory was a 68-24 romp in the rematch.

--Field Level Media