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November 11th, 2006 is a night that will live in the minds of Wake Forest fans for as long as they will live. Jim Grobe brought his 8-1 Demon Deacons into Tallahassee and thrashed the helpless 5-4 Florida State Seminoles 30-0 at Doak Campbell Stadium.
It was the first Wake Forest win in Tallahassee since 1959, and was also 77-year old Bobby Bowden's first shut out at home in his 31 years as head coach. It also broke a streak of 232 consecutive games where the Seminoles had gotten on the scoreboard (@ Miami in 1988).
One would have to go back to 1981 to find a bigger margin of defeat at home, a 58-14 loss at the hands of Southern Mississippi.
As memorable as 2006 was with the ACC Championship Game and the ensuing Orange Bowl, any Wake Forest fan that was at Doak Campbell that faithful night will tell you that the game ranks right up there with all the other magical moments of the year.
Up to that point the Deacs had picked up a good win at North Carolina, and a big 21-14 victory over No. 16 Boston College the week before, but was still looking for a "feather in the cap" victory to make a serious statement on the national scene. While that Florida State team probably wasn't as good as Boston College, the shock factor that came with the 30-0 scoreline was what made people take notice.
The Deacs also won the way they had done it all year---through defense and special teams. Kevin Patterson scored on a 48 yard interception return for a touchdown, the defense accrued four interceptions, and Sam Swank made three field goals en route to a dominating performance.
Drew Weatherford, one of two quarterbacks who played for the Noles that night summed it up as "the worst football game that (I) have ever been a part of."
Legendary coach Bobby Bowden wasn't pleased with Weatherford or Xavier Lee, remarking that "both quarterbacks were terrible."
Fast forward to 2014 and the Seminoles are the defending National Champions, and sit at 4-0 with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at the helms. The Deacs sit at 2-3, coming off of a loss at Louisville last weekend.
While it would take a minor (ok, probably a major) miracle for Wake Forest to pull off a victory this weekend, Wake Forest fans will always have that 30-0 victory in 2006 to look back on fondly.