DOTW Vote: Wake vs. UNC

Wake stormed out to a 21-0 lead over the Tarheels by early in the second quarter. The rest of the game was, for me, an exercise in meditative techniques as I tried to not get evicted from my own house for loudly oversharing my thoughts on how things were going. But hey, the Deacs held on for a 24-18 win, and that’s what matters. Here are your nominees for Deac of the Week:

DE Boogie Basham

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Boogie terrorized UNC’s backfield on Friday, ending up with five tackles (2 solo), a QB hurry, and a career-high 2.5 sacks. That gives him four games in a row (dating to the Birmingham Bowl) with at least one sack. He was also responsible for batting back Howell’s last pass attempt, which in an interesting turn of events was caught by the UNC QB, preventing the clock from stopping and contributing to the SCANDALOUS ending that will surely live in infamy.

SS Nasir Greer

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Greer has made his presence felt this season. This game was no exception, as he made 10 tackles (5 solo), defended a pass, and forced UNC’s only turnover of the game by punching the ball out from Javonte Williams’ hands just as it seemed UNC had discovered how to run the ball. That fumble (recovered by Luke Masterson) gave the Deacs a short field and directly led to Wake’s first of three touchdowns over six minutes of game time.

LB Justin Strnad

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Strnad continued his monstrous season, making plays all over the field. He racked up a career-high 15 tackles (6 solo) to go with a sack and a defended pass. And, he was able to wrestle UNC’s Michael Carter in the final seconds of the game, preventing him from cleanly going out of bounds to stop the clock on the final play. DID I MENTION THE SCANDAL?

WR Sage Surratt

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Surratt put together another dominant performance in the much-hyped “Surratt Bowl” (a concept that put food on many a media member’s table in the week leading up the game). Safe to say, Sage came out of this matchup on top, catching 9 passes for a career-high 169 yards and a touchdown. 157 of those yards came in the first half, breaking a school record. That now makes five straight games for Surratt finding the end zone, dating back to the blowout over Duke last year.

Honorable Mentions:

Jamie Newman (14/26 for 214 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, plus 19 carries for 78 yards and 2 grown man TDs), Kenneth Walker III (13 carries for 94 yards), Luke Masterson (1 sack, 1 fumble recovered), Nick Sciba (good from 32 yards on Wake’s last possession, to force UNC to drive for a touchdown), Dom Maggio (8 punts for an average of 47.8 yards)