Jan. 24, 2007

Printable Wake Forest Schedule
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Greensboro, N.C. -- The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its 2007 football schedule on Wednesday. The schedule for the defending ACC Champions, features six bowl teams from last season and an exciting list of home opponents, including a nationally-televised Thursday night game against Florida State.

The home schedule includes Army, Florida State, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina and NC State. Wake Forest will travel to Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Navy, Virginia, and Vanderbilt.

"I am excited about our schedule for 2007. It is certainly going to be a challenge for us," said head coach Jim Grobe, who enters his seventh season in Winston-Salem. "We have several great teams coming to Groves Stadium which should be a lot of fun for our community and fans as well as a very, very competitive schedule on the road."

"Our non-league schedule is very demanding so it looks like we will have our hands full every week. But we are looking forward to it."

Wake Forest's season opener is Sept. 1 at Boston College. The game will mark the debut of Eagles head coach Jeff Jagodzinski. Wake Forest opened the 2003 season with a 32-28 non-conference victory at Alumni Stadium. Boston College had not yet officially joined the ACC. The Deacons and Eagles have won three of the last four meetings, but each have been decided by seven points or less.  The all-time series is tied at 6-6-2.

The home opener will come Sept. 8 against Nebraska. The Huskers have never played an ACC team in a true road game.  The game serves as a return trip following the 2005 meeting in Lincoln. Nebraska won that contest 31-3.

Army marches into Groves Stadium on Sept. 15. The Deacons and Black Knights have not met since the 1999 season at West Point. Wake Forest has won each of the last four contests and leads the all-time series 6-4.

The September homestand continues on Sept. 22 against Maryland. The Deacons and Terrapins played a memorable contest in last year's regular season finale. Wake Forest won that game 38-24 to clinch a berth in the ACC Championship Game.  

After an open date on Sept. 29, the Deacons jump back into the conference schedule against Coastal Division crossover rival Duke. Wake Forest has won seven straight games against Duke and four of the last five at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils will be seeking revenge from last year's 14-13 thriller in Winston-Salem.

Wake Forest will have a short week to prepare for Florida State.  The Deacons will host the Seminoles on Thursday night, Oct. 11 in front of a national audience on ESPN. Wake Forest snapped a long losing streak against Florida State last season with a 30-0 victory at Doak Campbell Stadium. It will be the first nationally-televised Thursday night game at Groves Stadium since 1997 when Wake Forest edged NC State 19-18.

Four of the Deacons' final six regular season games will be on the road. The second half begins with Navy on Oct. 20 in Annapolis. Wake Forest has won each of the last three meetings and owns the series lead, 5-2. The last contest between the Midshipmen and the Deacons was in 2002 at Groves Stadium. Wake Forest has not traveled to Annapolis since 2000.

The Deacons return home to play North Carolina on Oct. 27. The Tar Heels have not made an appearance in Groves Stadium since the 2004 season. Wake Forest has won four of the last seven meetings. It will be the 102nd contest between the Deacons and the Tar Heels.

For the first time since 2003, the Deacons will face Grobe's alma mater, Virginia.  Wake Forest visits Charlottesville on Nov. 3. The Deacons lost the most recent meetings in 2002 and 2003. In 2001, the second-most recent trip to Virginia, the Deacons beat the Cavaliers 34-30.

Wake Forest heads to Death Valley on Nov. 10 to play Clemson. The Deacons and Tigers have split the last four meetings. The last time Wake Forest went to Clemson was the 2004 season opener when the Tigers came away with a 37-30 double overtime victory.

The 101st edition of the Wake Forest-NC State rivalry is set for Nov. 17. The game will be the home finale for the Deacons. Tom O'Brien will make his first trip to Groves Stadium as the head coach of the Wolfpack. O'Brien coached previously at Boston College and led the Eagles to Winston-Salem in 2004 and 2006. The Deacons won both of those contests.

Wake Forest wraps up the regular season in Nashville on Nov. 24 against Vanderbilt. The contest marks the beginning of a new, seven-game series between the schools. The schools will play every year through 2014 except for 2009. The game will serve as the regular season finale throughout the length of the series. The Commodores defeated Wake Forest in the 2005 season opener at Groves Stadium and lead the series, 7-3.

Among ACC teams, Wake Forest will not play Georgia Tech, Miami and Virginia Tech. Miami returns to the schedule in 2008, Georgia Tech in 2009 and Virginia Tech in 2010.

The dates for Homecoming, Parents Day and Church Day will be announced at a later time. Game times will not be determined until 12 days before each game date.

The Demon Deacons return 15 of 24 starters, including eight on offense, five on defense and both specialists from last year's 11-3 team that won the ACC Championship and appeared in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

2007 Wake Forest Football Schedule