1997 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The 1997 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team was an American football team that represented Wake Forest University during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Jim Caldwell, the Demon Deacons compiled a 5–6 record and finished in a tie for sixth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.[1]

1997 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record5–6 (3–5 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorHank Small (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorJames Bell (1st season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainThabiti Davis, Robert Fatzinger, Chris Gaskell, D'Angelo Solomon
Home stadiumGroves Stadium
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
1997 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 3 Florida State $   8 0     11 1  
No. 6 North Carolina   7 1     11 1  
Virginia   5 3     7 4  
No. 25 Georgia Tech   5 3     7 5  
Clemson   4 4     7 5  
NC State   3 5     6 5  
Wake Forest   3 5     5 6  
Maryland   1 7     2 9  
Duke   0 8     2 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 63:30 pmNo. 21 Northwestern*ABCW 27–2024,320[2]
September 133:30 pmat East Carolina*FSNL 24–2538,031[3]
September 206:30 pmGeorgia Tech
  • Groves Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC
L 26–2822,832[4]
September 258:00 pmNC State
  • Groves Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)
ESPNW 19–1824,259[5]
October 412:00 pmat VirginiaJPSL 13–2140,000[6]
October 1112:00 pmat No. 5 North CarolinaJPSL 12–3057,000[7]
October 181:00 pmMaryland
  • Groves Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC
W 35–1717,893[8]
October 2512:00 pmat DukeJPSW 38–2428,531[9]
November 112:00 pmClemson 
  • Groves Stadium
  • Winston-Salem, NC
JPSL 16–3323,411[10]
November 812:00 pmat Rutgers*ESPN PlusW 28–1411,717[11]
November 1512:00 pmat No. 2 Florida StateJPSL 7–5870,026[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Team leaders

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Category Team Leader Att/Cth Yds
Passing Brian Kuklick 190/312 2,180
Rushing Herman Lewis 114 491
Receiving Desmond Clark 72 950

References

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  1. ^ "1997 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  2. ^ "Rude a-Wake-ning; Wake Forest stuns Northwestern for 2nd straight year". Northwest Herald. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "East Carolina rallies from 21 down to beat Wake". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Jackets shake off slow start". The Charlotte Observer. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Wake Forest stuns N.C. State with late FG". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 26, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Virginia QB leads Cavs' charge past stunned Wake". The Charlotte Observer. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "North Carolina has its flaws, but does enough to top Wake Forest". Press of Atlantic City. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Kuklick leads Wake over Terps 35–17". The Atlanta Constitution. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Wake Forest overcomes turnovers". The Times and Democrat. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Records, Deacons topple for Greene, Clemson". Asheville Citizen-Times. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Knights now 0-for-10". The Courier-News. November 9, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "10 and 0, Gators to go". Tallahassee Democrat. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.