The impossible dream
I said this summer on one of our "ACC Nation" football previews that it looked to me that Wake Forest could easily start the season 5-0 - and then from there, who knows?
I have to admit that I never in a million years would have expected Jim Grobe's team to go from that 5-0 start that I foresaw to an 11-2 finish that would land the Demon Deacons in the Orange Bowl.
And that's before factoring in that the two players that we focused our interview with Grobe on back in August - quarterback Ben Mauk and tailback Micah Andrews - went down in the opener and Week 3, respectively, with season-ending injuries.
"We're a football team that will really appreciate being in the Orange Bowl," said Grobe, whose Wake program won its first conference title in 36 years with its 9-6 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday in Jacksonville.
"We don't take anything for granted. I can tell you that they're really, really excited to be in a BCS game. Sometimes teams take playing bowl games for granted, but we're one team that will be truly excited to still be playing football," Grobe said.
The Deacs were getting ready for the offseason this time a year ago - after entering the 2005 campaign with expectations of a possible bowl berth, Wake stumbled to a 4-7 finish.
Now they're preparing for Louisville, the Big East champ, who finished the 2006 regular season 11-1 and were sixth in the final BCS standings.
"We know we have our work cut out for us," Grobe said of the Cardinals. "I've seen them on TV. They're very explosive on offense and they're a very good defensive football team. They're very impressive."
Not as impressive, in my mind, as Wake Forest - which you have to put on the short list of the most overachieving teams in college-football history.
- Chris Graham