Second viewing thoughts and grades: Wake Forest

It was nice to see many of you in person at the game. Thank you to those who took the time to say hello. As for seeing the game in person, two things stood out to me. First, I am going to sound like Addazio, but there were so many plays that were close to being big. There were holes that closed at just the last minute or guys who were in good position but ignored by Towles. Some of that is dumb luck, some is coaching. The second thing that really stood out is how much Addazio relies on Pasqualoni. When Wake ran into the kicker on the final drive, the refs came over to Addazio to find out if he wanted to kick again or decline the penalty. Daz called Pasqualoni over from 30 yards away to go through it with him. It actually makes me feel better. I didn't like their decision to decline it, but at least Addazio is using  trusted sounding board to try to improve game management.

Offense: C

Towles was not sharp. His old habits came back -- waiting too long to get rid of it, off target. He did have a few nice runs. His passing improved in the second half.

Willis' TD was a great run. I wish we had used him more on the edges all year. Rouse had a nice run. Jones and Hilliman had more trouble finding space.

Smith was sloppy with the ball and didn't get much going in the Wildcat stuff. Sweeney made some nice grabs. Callinan had a nice catch that kept things alive. Walker wasn't targeted much.

The OLine wasn't great. They broke down on pass protection and also had some issues creating holes in the running game. The interior guys were better than the tackles.

The Offensive play calling was the usual mixed bag. The now predictable Wildcat. Way too much running between the tackles and problems with execution. Yet there were a few moments that had promise. We spread them out well with running to the edges. We were able to get some intermediate passing going on the final scoring drive. The Bowl game will hopefully improve all the execution issues and tighten the playbook to things BC does well.

Defense: A-

The DEs were really game changers. Both Landry and Kavalec looked good and created all sorts of problems. Allen played well. Merritt and Gutapfel played well. Ray was okay in his limited snaps.

Before the game I said the LBs would have to play well. They were just okay. Their coverage was iffy. They were the ones who let Wolford break off his big runs. They didn't make tons of big plays. They still had their moments, but as a group, they weren't great.

I was happy for Denis. He was picked on earlier in the season yet made the INT to close out the win. I thought Moore played well. Yiadom got away with a few calls, but also played well. Johnson got a pick also.

BC didn't try to do too much unique stuff. We were in man for most of the game and didn't blitz much. If that is all it takes, then so be it. I hope Reid brings out some new stuff for the bowl game.

Special Teams: B

Rouse's first return was great until the fumble. Willis made a key play on punt coverage forcing the fumble.

Knoll's kickoffs were great. His punts were good.

Overall: B-

There were the typical Addazio problems in this game, but they didn't cost us the game. That doesn't excuse them. We had confusion on 4th downs. We had ultra-conservative play calling that gave away possessions. We wasted timeouts. We had Offensive gimmicks that didn't work. If Wake's kicked doesn't miss those kicks, this is a different game.

But Addazio does deserve credit for the team not stopping and having an actual comeback. I got some heat on Twitter for sharing that some player parents were vocal in their frustration. I would be too. But it was also clear from the team reaction on the field and in the lockerroom, that Addazio still has the players behind him. That is a tribute to him. We've seen more successful teams check out on their coach. Despite all the struggles, Addazio's team has not.

Now BC gets one more game and Addazio gets a chance to end an up and down season on a high note.