Today is another big day for links, so if you're stuck at the office on a slow Wednesday or just have a lot of time, put on your reading glasses and get to work. Keep an eye on McKenzie's decision --he'll announce at 2 p.m. today whether he'll be a Demon Deacon or not. That said, I'll keep the 'graph short today so you can get on your way...linktime!

ACC Preview: Top players, games to watch - Sports - The News Herald
Riley Skinner, Wake Forest quarterback The ACC returns a bevy of starting quarterbacks this season and none may be better than Skinner. The 6-1, 210-pound senior is the school’s career leader in completion percentage (.673), passing efficiency (132.33) and wins (26). He also is the ACC career leader in completion percentage and should collect loads more school records this season.

BC Interruption: Food Chain: Ranking The 2009 Schedule
September 26: Boston College vs. Wake Forest Brian: The Deacons have to take a step back this season, right? I know that Wake Forest will be sound offensively led by senior "it feels like he’s been there for 8 years" quarterback Riley Skinner. But the Deacons seem to have lost just too much talent on the defensive side of the ball to rank this game too high up in pecking order. It is true that you should never count out a Jim Grobe-led team, and Wake Forest has given the Eagles fits at Alumni Stadium over the years, but this game seems to be one of the more winnable ACC games this season. I guess that is saying something.

The Zook Awards: Best and Worst Coaches 2009
5. Jim Grobe, Wake Forest - No coach does more with less than Jim Grobe. Did you ever think you'd see Wake Forest in a BCS Bowl? In 3 straight bowl games, winning 2 of them? Well neither did anyone else until Jim Grobe showed up. Wake Forest hasn't had a coach since 1950 win even 30 games in his career (Grobe's predecessor was 26-63). Grobe is 54-44.

Wake Forest scouting report : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

How do the Deacons replace seven defensive starters? Wake Forest lost some serious star power, with LB Aaron Curry, CB Alphonso Smith, S Chip Vaughn and LB Stanley Arnoux all taken in the NFL draft. This year's defense is short on experience but long on talent, and it's built around a front four anchored by returnees John Russell and Boo Robinson. "Even when we've had great players in the past, I've always felt that it all starts up front with the D-line," Russell said. This year, they'll have to prove it.

Tribe Men's Soccer Falls in Season Opener at #3 Wake Forest, 1-0
The William and Mary men's soccer team once again played the #3 Wake Forest Demon Deacons to the wire on Tuesday night. But for the second straight match, the Deacs were able to edge the Tribe, 1-0. Last season, Wake defeated the Tribe, 1-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With the loss, the College falls to 0-1,while WF moves to 1-0.

SoccerAmerica.com: Articles - 2009 Men's College Soccer Preview - 09/01/2009
The 10 starters from Wake Forest's 2007 championship team who are no longer with the team are all playing pro ball in MLS, the USL or Europe. That includes rising senior Cody Arnoux, who signed with English club Everton a month before the start of the 2009 season. Despite Arnoux's departure, the Demon Deacons should also be in the running for the national title. About the time Everton inked Arnoux, Wake announced the signing of midfielder Andy Lubahn, who had spent time at Belgian club Cercle Brugge.

Baylor QB to challenge all facets of Wake's D - ACC - ESPN
"This is definitely, definitely an early test," said [Jonathan] Jones. "In one sense it’s a blessing we get to play them in the first game so we’ve had a little longer to prepare for them. They do a lot of things, throw a lot of things at you, and with Robert Griffin being the dual threat that he is, you have to have everybody have all eyes on him. Everybody has to be focused and in tune. This is not a game that’s going to be won by the front, or won by the defensive backs. We need a collective team effort on defense to try to contain this offense."

The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX - Wake Forest’s Skinner wants to go out a winner
"I’ve still got so much to learn, and I still want to learn something new every day," Skinner said. "And I think that’s one thing that can only make you better as a quarterback — knowing that you don’t have all the answers. They’re coaches for a reason."

Freshman to play for Deacs
"We'll kind of see how that plays out," Grobe said. "I think with Souza, it could be good either way. If he redshirts, it will certainly be good for him. But he's a pretty good player and he's real competitive to play right now. "I think we'll probably see how those first four guys (John Russell, Robinson, Lockett and Booi) do. I think Tripp Russell's gotten better. Certainly we've already redshirted Tripp, and we would like for him to take snaps if we need it. "It's really going to be up to (assistant coach) Ray McCartney. I think we've told Frank there's a good chance he'll play this year. But we'll start out at 3:30 Saturday with those top four guys and see how it goes from there."

WFU wins soccer opener over William & Mary
"I'm impressed that we put a lot of pressure on a team like William & Mary, and we did control the game," Vidovich said. "At this time of the year, that's good. And for the freshmen like Andy Lubahn and Anthony Arena to come in and do so well is nice to see." Courtney said it was frustrating that the Deacons had so many chances to score but managed just one goal. But he also knows that staying patient while continuing to attack is a critical. "There's some pressure," Courtney said of the season, "but it's a new year, and we know we are going to be good."

College football: Knights share vision of upcoming season | Varsity845U.com
Army senior cornerback Mario Hill on Wake Forest linebacker Dominique Midgett: "He's my brother's cousin. We played at the same high school our first year and he transferred to a rival high school. He is a redshirt senior. He's a real big fella, very athletic. I remember growing up he was pretty good at basketball so he had the footwork for football. He has the will. He's a hard-working dude."

Aaron Curry's First Big Play - Field Gulls

Griffin ready to open season as Baylor’s starting QB | College Sports | Star-Telegram
"That’s the thing that really makes us have a chance to be as comfortable as you can be at this time of the year, because we’ve got nine (defensive starters) back over there," Briles said. "We’ve got some guys back there that played a bunch against a lot of good offenses. "So that type of ball they’re not going to be shocked or surprised by anything that’s thrown at them, because there’s some good offenses in this league. So that’s a confident factor for us."

My Take on Wake - On Second Thought: Grobe Not Infallible | JournalNow.com
"That was another thing of me not being the smartest guy in the world,‘’ Grobe said. "Last year we tried to be too much spread, and too much dinking and dunking. And we had a couple of pretty good fullbacks that we probably didn’t take advantage of doing that.‘’

Cincinnati.Com | Cincinnati Enquirer | High School Sports Blog " McKenzie to decide Wednesday afternoon
Moeller senior forward Griffin McKenzie is scheduled to announce his college choice at a news conference at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the school. McKenzie, one of the state’s top basketball players in the 2010 class, has narrowed his choices to Northwestern, Xavier, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.