Rah! Rah! Wake Forest Rah!

To begin, I cannot think about Wake Forest without thinking of James Caan as Brian Piccolo singing the Wake fight song in "Brian's Song."

"I love Brian Piccolo.  And I'd like all of you to love him, too.  And tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him." 

"It's not how he died that Brian will be remembered for, but how he lived.  And oh...how he lived!"

Pause for the men in the crowd tip a 40 for Pick and wipe the tears away.  Greatest sports movie ever.

Unfortunately, this trip down cinematic history will be the highlight of the Demon Deacons' day when they kick off at noon.

And the outcome should be decided by about 12:15.

So why bother with a blog about a nothing game?

Well, there are some interesting dynamics at play.  Yes, the last time the Noles rolled into Winston-Salem the slinked out with their tails between their legs on the wrong end of a 35-30 score.

But since then, the Noles have won 27 of 30 and -- thanks to a little help from the Stanford Cardinal -- are not looking at the very real prospect of taking on the Alabama Roll-Damn-Tides for the National Championship in Pasadena on January 6.

Today's game will not be close.  Yes, the Noles are positioned for a letdown after last week's beatdown of Miami and the fact that their path to the championship game is now in their hands.  Style points mean less to the Noles now; all they have to do is win.

And, yes...Wake gave Miami a scare before falling 24-21 and they've beaten Maryland (34-10) and NC State (28-13).

But...

They're ranked 119th in the nation in rushing (fewer than 90 yards per game) and 110th in scoring offense (just 19.4 ppt).

This one will be over early.

The interesting part is the line on today's game.  The spread is running between 34-35 points, with the over/under ranging from 55-56.5.

So the question isn't "will FSU dominate."  It's "by how much will they dominate?"

It's very possible that Jimbo will send the Noles out with the intent of shortening the noon game (after all, who will be watching?) by pounding the Demon Deacs on the ground.  Get in, get out, get no one hurt.

On the other hand, with Marcus Mariota and Teddy Bridgewater throwing out tepid numbers on Thursday and Friday, respectively, this could be a chance to showcase Jameis Winston and bolster his Heisman candidacy.

Either way, watch early because it's likely Winston and the FSU starters will be out of the game by late in the 3rd quarter.  The bad news for Wake Forest is that the Nole backups are still better than they are.

FSU will win decidedly but 35 points -- or as they call it in Oakland, a "Nick Foles spread" -- is a lot of points to lay on the road, even for this team.

Oh, what the hell...let's call the final score 49-10.  Lay the points and play the over.  After all, it's only money.

Smokey Joe


UPDATE:  Unfortunately, as a die-hard, dyed-in-the-wool, dead-in-the-water Oakland Raiders' fan, I have repressed the full extent of the humiliation meted out at the right hand of Nick Foles.  A 35-point spread is not the "Foles Spread."  Thirty-five points represents only five touchdowns, not seven, as Foles laid on my once-proud fellas in Silver & Black.  To reach Foles-ian levels, a team would have to be favored by 49 points.

The horrah...the horrah...