2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The 2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Demon Deacons were led by Dave Clawson in his tenth year as head coach. They played their home games at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team drew an average home attendance of 30,609 in 2023.

2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	4–8 (1–7 ACC)
Head coach	Dave Clawson (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Warren Ruggiero (10th season)
Offensive scheme	Slow mesh[1]
Defensive coordinator	Brad Lambert (5th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–2–5
Home stadium	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Florida State y$		8	–	0					13	–	1
No. 19 Louisville y		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 21 NC State		6	–	2					9	–	4
Georgia Tech		5	–	3					7	–	6
Virginia Tech		5	–	3					7	–	6
North Carolina		4	–	4					8	–	5
No. 20 Clemson		4	–	4					9	–	4
Duke		4	–	4					8	–	5
Miami (FL)		3	–	5					7	–	6
Boston College		3	–	5					7	–	6
Syracuse		2	–	6					6	–	7
Virginia		2	–	6					3	–	9
Pittsburgh		2	–	6					3	–	9
Wake Forest		1	–	7					4	–	8
Championship: Florida State 16, Louisville 6
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Offseason

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2023 NFL draft

Player	Position	Team	Round	Pick
Kobie Turner	DE	Los Angeles Rams	3	89
A. T. Perry	WR	New Orleans Saints	6	195

Transfers

Outgoing

Player	Position	Destination
Jackson Hensley	WR	Eastern Kentucky
Christian Turner	RB	Indiana
Zavier Simpson	WR	Ball State
Brett Griffis	QB	James Madison
J.J. Roberts	CB	Marshall
Gavin Holmes	CB	Texas
Quinton Cooley	RB	Liberty
Rondell Bothroyd	DL	Oklahoma
Dez Williams	WR	Stony Brook
Sam Hartman	QB	Notre Dame
Bernard Gooden	DL	South Florida

^[2]

Incoming

Player	Position	Previous school
Bryce Ganious	DL	Villanova
Walker Merrill	WR	Tennessee
Jacob Roberts	ILB	North Carolina A&T

Schedule

Wake Forest and the ACC announced the 2023 football schedule on January 30, 2023.^[3][4] The 2023 season will be the conference's first season since 2004, that its scheduling format just includes one division. The new format sets Wake Forest with three set conference opponents, while playing the remaining ten teams twice (home and away) in a four–year cycle. The Demon Deacons three set conference opponents for the next four years is; Duke, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech.^[5][6]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Elon*	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ACCN	W 37–17	30,028
September 9	11:00 a.m.	Vanderbilt*	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ACCN	W 36–20	28,363
September 16	12:00 p.m.	at Old Dominion*	S.B. Ballard Stadium Norfolk, VA	ESPN2	W 27–24	18,276
September 23	6:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	The CW	L 16–30	32,528
October 7	3:30 p.m.	at Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ACCN	L 12–17	80,810
October 14	3:30 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	L 13–30	65,632
October 21	3:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ACCN	W 21–17	31,855
October 28	12:00 p.m.	No. 4 Florida State	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ABC	L 16–41	31,288
November 2	7:30 p.m.	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–24	18,277
November 11	2:00 p.m.	NC State	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)	The CW	L 6–26	29,591
November 18	3:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 7–45	77,622
November 25	2:00 p.m.	at Syracuse	JMA Wireless Dome Syracuse, NY	The CW	L 31–35	35,018
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^[7]

Game summaries

Elon

See also: 2023 Elon Phoenix football team

Elon Phoenix at Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Phoenix	0	0	14	3	17
Demon Deacons	10	14	6	7	37

at Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC

• Date: August 31, 2023
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 30,028
• TV announcers (ACCN): Drew Carter (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)

Game information
First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Win Probability Line Over/Under

Statistics	ELON	WAKE
First downs	13	22
Total yards	251	427
Rushing yards	104	98
Passing yards	149	327
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	31:50	28:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Elon	Passing	Justin Allen	18/29, 130 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jalen Hampton	15 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jordan Bonner	7 catches, 58 yards
Wake Forest	Passing	Mitch Griffis	19/30, 329, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Demond Claiborne	13 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jahmal Banks	6 catches, 108 yards, 1 TD

Vanderbilt

See also: 2023 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

Game Two – Vanderbilt Commodores (2–0) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vanderbilt	0	14	0	6	20
Wake Forest	3	21	3	9	36

at Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC

• Date: September 9, 2023
• Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
• Game attendance: 28,363
• Referee: Lee Hendrick
• TV announcers (ACCN): Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Hutson Mason (analyst), Lericia Harris (sideline)

Game information

First quarter (12:50) WAKE – Matthew Dennis 25-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 0:40; Wake Forest 3–0) Second quarter (12:55) WAKE – Jahmal Banks 7-yard pass from Mitch Griffis (Matthew Dennis kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:10; Wake Forest 10–0) (10:03) VAN – Will Sheppard 11-yard pass from AJ Swann (Jacob Borcila kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:46; Wake Forest 10–7) (3:22) WAKE – Tate Carney 1-yard run (Matthew Dennis kick) (Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 6:41; Wake Forest 17–7) (1:42) VAN – Will Sheppard 10-yard pass from AJ Swann (Jacob Borcila kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:40; Wake Forest 17–14) (0:50) WAKE – Brendon Harris 31-yard fumble return (Matthew Dennis kick) (Wake Forest 24–14) Third quarter (12:36) WAKE – Matthew Dennis 44-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 2:18; Wake Forest 27–14) Fourth quarter (11:39) WAKE – Ke'Shawn Williams 24-yard pass from Mitch Griffis (pass failed) (Drive: 7 plays, 50 yards, 3:15; Wake Forest 33–14) (9:08) VAN – London Humphreys 30-yard pass from AJ Swann (pass failed) (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:31; Wake Forest 33–20) (2:24) WAKE – Matthew Dennis 20-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 6:44; Wake Forest 36–20)

Statistics	VAN	WAKE
First downs	21	29
Total yards	423	484
Rushing yards	109	288
Passing yards	314	196
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	25:43	34:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	AJ Swann	26/39, 314 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Patrick Smith	10 carries, 77 yards
	Receiving	London Humphreys	4 receptions, 109 yards, TD
Wake Forest	Passing	Mitch Griffis	17/26, 196 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Demond Claiborne	26 carries, 165 yards
	Receiving	Ke'Shawn Williams	5 receptions, 92 yards, TD

at Old Dominion

See also: 2023 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

Georgia Tech

See also: 2023 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

at Clemson

See also: 2023 Clemson Tigers football team

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Clemson Tigers − Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	3	0	3	6	12
Clemson	0	7	3	7	17

at Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC

• Date: October 7, 2023
• Game time: 3:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: NW @ 10 mph (16 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 80,810
• Referee: Jerry Magallanes
• TV announcers (ACCN): Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (color), Sherree Burruss (sideline)
• Sources:

Game information

First quarter (2:25) Wake Forest – Matthew Dennis 35 yard field goal, (Drive: 7 plays, 28 yards, 3:15; Wake Forest 3–0) Second quarter (10:18) Clemson – Cade Klubnik 7 yard rush, Jonathan Weitz kick, (Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 7:07; Clemson 7–3) Third quarter (7:15) Clemson – Weitz 25 yard field goal, (Drive: 15 plays, 67 yards, 7:45; Clemson 10–3) (2:20) Wake Forest – Dennis 22 yard field goal, (Drive: 12 plays, 71 yards, 4:55; Clemson 10–6) Fourth quarter (5:49) Clemson – Will Shipley 1 yard rush, Weitz kick, (Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards, 3:45; Clemson 17–6) (1:34) Wake Forest – Demond Claiborne 3 yard rush, 2 point attempt failed (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:15; Clemson 17–12)

Statistics	WAKE	CLEM
First downs	18	19
Total yards	239	338
Rushing yards	102	207
Passing yards	137	131
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	28:39	31:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wake Forest	Passing	Mitch Griffis	15/25, 137 yards
	Rushing	Demond Claiborne	19 rushes, 60 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jahmal Banks	8 receptions, 55 yards
Clemson	Passing	Cade Klubnik	18/28, 131 yards
	Rushing	Will Shipley	19 rushes, 97 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Beaux Collins	5 receptions, 50 yards

at Virginia Tech

See also: 2023 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-2) at Virginia Tech Hokies − Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	0	10	0	3	13
Virginia Tech	0	17	3	10	30

at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA

• Date: October 14, 2023
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C)
• Game attendance: 65,632
• Referee: Stuart Mullins
• TV: ACCN

Game information

Second Quarter (10:42) VT – Bhayshul Tuten 3 yd Rush (John Love Kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:48; VT 7–0) (4:23) VT - John Love 37 yd Field Goal (Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 4:31; VT 10-0) (4:10) WF - Demond Claiborne 96 yd Kickoff Return (Matthew Dennis Kick) (VT 10-7) (3:59) VT - Jaylin Lane 75 yd Pass From Kyron Drones (John Love Kick) (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:11; VT 17-7) (0:20) WF - Matthew Dennis 28 yd Field Goal (Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 3:39; VT 17-10) Third Quarter (0:49) VT - John Love 26 yd Field Goal (Drive: 13 plays, 45 yards, 6:26; VT 20-10) Fourth Quarter (12:37) WF – Matthew Dennis 34 yd Field Goal (Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 3:12; VT 20–13) (8:06) VT - John Love 36 yd Field Goal (Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards, 4:31; VT 23-13) (2:47) VT - Jaylin Lane 12 yd Pass From Kyron Drones (John Love Kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards, 3:07; VT 30-13)

Statistics	WF	VT
First downs	20	21
Total yards	262	462
Rush yards	35	141
Passing yards	227	321
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	27:08	32:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wake Forest	Passing	Michael Kern	14/22, 166 yards
	Rushing	Justice Ellison	11 carries, 35 yards
	Receiving	Taylor Morin	7 receptions, 86 yards
Virginia Tech	Passing	Kyron Drones	20/29, 321 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Kyron Drones	15 carries, 59 yards
	Receiving	Jaylin Lane	3 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD

Pittsburgh

See also: 2023 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

No. 4 Florida State

See also: 2023 Florida State Seminoles football team

at Duke

See also: 2023 Duke Blue Devils football team

NC State

See also: 2023 NC State Wolfpack football team and NC State–Wake Forest rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under
WAKE –0.5	42.5

NC State Wolfpack at Wake Forest Demon Deacons − Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	7	14	0	5	26
Demon Deacons	0	0	0	6	6

at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC

• Date: November 11, 2023
• Game time: 2:00 p.m EST
• Game attendance: 29,591
• TV announcers (CW): Tom Werme (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst), and Treavor Scales (sideline)

Game information
First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Win Probability Line Over/Under

Statistics	NCSU	WAKE
First downs	19	8
Total yards	379	163
Rushing yards	268	7
Passing yards	111	156
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	40:16	19:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
NC State	Passing	Brennan Armstrong	12–17, 113 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Brennan Armstrong	15 rushes, 96 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dacari Collins	2 receptions, 40 yards
Wake Forest	Passing	Michael Kern	14–26, 137 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Demond Claiborne	8 rushes, 12 yards
	Receiving	Horatio Fields	3 receptions, 31 yards

at No. 19 Notre Dame

See also: 2023 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4–6) vs. No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7–3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wake Forest	0	7	0	0	7
No. 19 Notre Dame	7	10	14	14	45

at Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN

• Date: November 18, 2023
• Game time: 3:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 50 °F (10 °C)
• Game attendance: 77,622
• Referee: Tim Hedgepeth
• TV announcers (NBC): Jac Collinsworth (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), and Zora Stephenson (reporter)

Game information

First quarter (0:54) ND – Devyn Ford 12-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 4:41; Notre Dame 7–0) Second quarter (11:41) WF – Tate Carney 9-yard run, Matthew Dennis kick (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 4:07; Tied 7–7) (7:06) ND – Tobias Merriweather 35-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 4:28; Notre Dame 14–7) (0:05) ND – Spencer Shrader 37-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 1:30; Notre Dame 17–7) Third quarter (14:09) ND – Eli Raridon 19-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 1 play, 19 yards, 0:07; Notre Dame 24–0) (5:22) ND – Audric Estimé 2-yard run, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 5 plays, 54 yards, 2:07; Notre Dame 31-7) Fourth quarter (13:24) ND – Jaden Greathouse 48-yard pass from Sam Hartman, Spencer Shrader kick (Drive: 1 play, 54 yards, 2:07; Notre Dame 38–0) (3:56) ND – Jordan Faison 17-yard pass from Steve Angeli, Marcello Diomede kick (Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards, 5:49; Notre Dame 45–7)

Statistics	WAKE	ND
First downs	14	25
Total yards	232	450
Rushes/yards	36–134	30–137
Passing yards	98	313
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–21–0	24–34–0
Time of possession	31:27	28:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wake Forest	Passing	Michael Kern	11/20, 81 yards
	Rushing	Ellison Justice	15 carries, 63 yards
	Receiving	Jahmal Banks	5 receptions, 35 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Sam Hartman	21/29, 277 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Audric Estimé	22 carries, 115 yards, TD
	Receiving	Rico Flores Jr.	8 receptions, 102 yards

at Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demon Deacons	7	3	7	14	31
Orange	7	7	7	14	35

See also: 2023 Syracuse Orange football team

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2024 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
4	124	Malik Mustapha	S	San Francisco 49ers
5	174	Caelen Carson	CB	Dallas Cowboys
7	230	Michael Jurgens	C	Minnesota Vikings

Source:^[8]