Three Up, Three Down Week 1: Elon

It's been a while guys, but football season is once again, and so is the Rollin' Ronin.  This season for football, I'll be doing a weekly feature called Three Up, Three Down, which is pretty self-explanatory.  Of course, with a performance like that, it'll be hard to find down spots, but I'm nothing if not determined, so we'll press on.

The Ups

The Passing Game.  All of it. I mean really, the passing was an absolute clinic.  Starter John Wolford had unquestionably the greatest game of his career, with 20/27 completions for a very strong 323 yards, 3 TDs, and no picks.  This gave him a staggering QBR of 95.5 (on a 100 scale).  I don't care who you're playing, a near perfect passing game from your starting QB is always a blessing.  Backup Kendall Hinton also did a solid job with the backups, completing 9/13 passes for 66 yards for a QBR of exactly 66.6.   But let's give some love to the receivers, too.  13(!) receivers caught passes.  Six of those 13 caught three or more passes.  Nine of the 13 had long catches of 10+ yards.  That is just awesome.  It was wonderful to see this young team playing by committee.

The Run. That Wolford run.  Need I say more?

Cam Serigne, Man Among Boys. Not only did Cam Serigne have three catches for 60 yards, a long of 28, and one TD, he was also the key lead blocker on that Wolford run.  When Wake was slow to get going and we were on a third and long, I literally turned to the gentleman sitting next to me and said "I'd get it to Serigne here.  He's due to clown somebody."  Lo and behold he did just that, and the rout was on.

Honorable Mention: Tabari Hines. I have been hearing a lot of hype about this kid, and I sure liked what I saw last night, both in receiving and the return game, with one notable exception (which I'll get to).

The Downs

Missed Field Goal. Unfortunate for Mike Weaver, but he had a great game otherwise so I don't want to harp on too much.

That One Hines Return. Instead of letting one go, presumably for a touchback, Tabari Hines made the freshman mistake of trying to make a huge play and ended up pinning Wake inside their own 10 yard line.

That One Wolford Sack. We had a slight flashback to last year's John Wolford wherein he took a brutal sack backed up deep that, against a more aggressive defense, could've ended up a safety, a fumble into a scoop and score, or any number of other things.

Dishonorable Mention: No Shutout. Kind of a bummer.

Bottom Lines

About as flawless of a Wake Football performance I've seen in probably almost 10 years.  It was just a humbling, and awful though Elon may be, let us not forget that last year we opened the season losing @Louisiana-Monroe, then beat an ultimately 4-8 Gardner-Webb squad by only 23-7.  We're a young team, and Elon is by far the easiest competition we'll face all year, but that doesn't change the fact that I honestly couldn't have scripted a better opener.

Great start.  On to the next.  Go Deacs.

--SF