Simulating The 2012 Season: Wake Forest

Great Shane of Subway Domer video fame decided to sit down and simulate the 2012 Football Season on NCAA Football 2013. He took notes as he watched the Notre Dame games unfold. Dear god, he's going to die at a young age…

Next up: Wake Forest

Week 12: Wake Forest vs. Notre Dame (South Bend, IN)

We totally needed that ass stomping of Boston College, let me just start out by saying that. We still boast the #1 rush defense in the land at under 56 yards allowed per game, but there are 3 glaring stats that at this point in the season are in no way, shape or form excusable: #120 in Rush Offense at 73 ypg, #110 in Turnover Margin at -7, and #119 in Total Offense at 282 ypg. The kinds of things that make you say “Okay, bring in the next Offensive Guru you got, this shit aint cutting it.” Nonetheless we managed to somehow be 6-4 at this point despite it all and now have another therapeutic matchup with 3-7 Wake Forest. The stats to consider for Wake are all in the defensive category as they look like a fucking Pop Warner team on D: #119 in Total defense allowing 426 ypg, #105 in Rush Defense allowing 170 ypg, and #112 in Passing Defense allowing 255 ypg. If anything this game will serve to boost our stats and bring some false sense of pride into the matchup with USC next week. Off to Gameday!

Irish fans show up for this one in “white out” fashion as the crowd is like a crashing sea devoid of color. This is going to be interesting…

Wake Forest wins the toss and elects to defer to the second half so the Irish take the ball on the kickoff from the 3 and run it back to the 33 where they will go to work.

On 1st down Golson whiffs it and lobs it a little long and it luckily hits the ground incomplete. On 2nd down Golson hits John Goodman on a screen which picks up about 5 yards. Turning the pace up to a no-huddle, on 3rd down Golson hands it off to Wood who picks up about 8 yards on the carry down to the Notre Dame 46 for an Irish 1st down. On 1st Golson auidbles into a run and hands it off to Wood who gains another 8 yards making it 2nd and 2. On 2nd down they try to run and gain about 1 yard to bring up 3rd and 1. On 3rd down Brian Kelly mixes things up lining John Goodman up in the backfield and Golson hands it off to him on a sweep which he takes for a decent gain up to the Wake 35 yard line for another 1st. On 1st down Golson hits TJ Jones on a curl and he gains about 8. On 2nd down Golson finds Goodman on the sideline and he takes it down to the 21 for another Irish 1st down. Still driving, on 1st down Golson rolls out and doesn’t find anyone open so he tucks it and runs down to the Wake 20 for a minimal pickup. On 2nd and 9, Golson fakes a hand off and rolls out of the pocket only to be met by the defensive line for a loss of 10 and a sack to make it 3rd and 19. On 3rd and 19 Golson steps up in the pocket and appears to throw it off balance as it wobbles into the end zone and falls incomplete having overthrown his intended receiver, which brings up 4th down. On 4th down they elect to kick the FG and put it through the uprights to take a 3-0 lead in the 1st quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Wake manages to bring the ball up to the 27 where they’ll start the drive. On 1st and 10, they try to run the option and Manti Te’o slams the QB in the back field for a 5 yard loss. On 2nd and 15, they pass and find a receiver on the sideline for a pickup of 10 making it 3rd and 5. On 3rd down, the tight end comes in and makes a catch on a curl to pick up the 1st down at the Wake 43. On 1st down, they try to run it left but Ishaq Williams is there and puts a stop to the play 3 yards into the backfield for a loss making it 2nd and 13. On 2nd down from the 40, they pass it again and manage to hit the receiver right past the 1st down marker at the Notre Dame 45 for another Wake 1st down. On 1st down they run it left again and manage to pick up 4. On 2ndd down they try to run it again but get stuffed and lose 3 yards to make it 3rd and 9. On 3rd down they go for a homerun ball to the end zone and the receiver drops it to bring up 4th down. They punt it on 4th and it goes into the end zone for a touchback.

manti teo

Manti apparently practicing scaring children for this Halloween. The QB cowers in fear…

On 1st down from the 20, Golson hands it off to Wood who takes it and picks up about 9 yards. On 2nd and 1, Golson drops back and doesn’t see the blitzing linebacker and gets pelted for a sack and am loss of 9 yards to negate the Wood run and make it 3rd and 10. On 3rd down Golson hits Robby Toma underneath but he doesn’t get enough for the 1st and it brings up 4th and 2 where the Irish are forced to punt just as the quarter comes to an end. When the 2nd quarter starts, the Irish punt it away and the punt gets down to the Wake 28 where the return man it tackled immediately. SICK punt.

On 1st down the Deacons try to run it left and get taken down behind the line for a loss of 4 making it 2nd and 14. On 2nd down they try the option again and once again Manti wrecks the QB for a loss before he can get anything going and they lose another 5 yards to bring up 3rd and 19. On 3rd and fucking forever, they drop back and somehow manage to find a man right and the marker for a 1st down. Defending the pass is not what we’re about today apparently… On 1st down they try to run, and still can’t do shit and they’re stuffed for no gain. On 2nd down the QB gets pressured by Danny Spond and he throws it away out of bounds, bringing up 3rd and 10. On 3rd down, where they’ve been converting all game, the QB hits a man underneath but he can’t get the 1st down yardage and he stopped 2 yards shy of the marker bringing up 4th down. As expected, they punt it on 4th down and it sails into the end zone for a touchback, so Notre Dame will get started at the 20.

On 1st down they line up with 5 wide receivers and Golson in the gun. After the snap, he looks for Tyler Eifert underneath but he overthrows him and it sails out of bounds. On 2nd down he goes into another 5-wide set and this time looks, and then decides to tuck it and run it himself which he does for a gain of about 14 down to the 34 and a 1st down. After the play Golson is slow to get up and appears to have been injured on the hit he took, to which everyone in ND Nation responds “Fuck me…” So enter ANDREW HENDRIX to take things over. On 1st down Hendrix hits Tyler Eifert for a solid gain of about 8 over the middle. Not too shabby. On 2nd and 2 Hendrix tries to hand it off to Wood on a sweep but it gets stuffed for a loss of 2 making it 3rd and 4. On 3rd down Hendrix looks and looks and can’t find a man and just like in practice, he’s hit for a coverage sack on the play and loses another 2 yards to bring up 4th and 6. Its right around this time that news from the sideline (I’m assuming Alex Flannagan) comes out that Golson just has bruised ribs and will be back in surely on the next drive. The Irish, for now, are forced to punt it away. They punt sails to the Wake 19 and it’s returned to the 29.

On 1st down from the 29, Wake comes out and they go for a pass which Danny Spond swats down incomplete. On 2nd down they try to pass again and once again it’s swatted down this time by Zeke Motta. On 3rd down the QB targets the tight end underneath and the big fella turns it up field and picks up the 1st down at the 40. On 1st down the QB passes it again this time hitting an open man on a crossing pattern who then takes the ball up field down to the Notre Dame 43 for another 1st down. On 1st down they try to run it on a delay but its gets nothing as usual. On 2nd down, they go for another pass and connect with their boundary receiver who takes it up the field and is taken down at the Notre Dame 23 for a gain of 19 and another 1st down for Wake. On 1st and 10, they stay with the pass and this time connect with a man who finds a whole in the zone and he takes it up the right side of the field down to the Notre Dame 3 yard line to make it 1st and goal. On 1st down they try to run an option and it goes nowhere for a short loss. On 2nd down the QB seems to panic and launches one out of the back of the end zone incomplete. On 3rd and goal from the 4, they try to pass it to the back on an underneath pattern and he gets taken down by Josh Atkinson to bring up 4th down. On 4th down they elect to kick the easy FG and it goes right through the uprights and the game is tied at 3 all with 42 seconds left in the half.

Notre Dame takes the ensuing kickoff up to about the 23 yard line to start the drive. Golson is now back and on 1st down he tosses it to TJ Jones who gets the first right at the 34 yard line at which point BK takes his first time out. On 1st down again Golson finds Robby Toma for another 10-yard strike and he’s stopped at the 45 where Brian Kelly takes another timeout. On 1st down Golson finds Goodman over the middle for another Irish 1st down at the Wake 43. On 1st down Golson drops back, and holds onto the ball too long and takes a sack back at the ND 49 as time ticks under 15 seconds. BK elects not to use his final timeout and the clock runs and on 2nd and 18 Golson goes for a short pass underneath to Eifert which picks up maybe 10 yards and the clock hits 5 seconds when BK finally takes his last timeout. On 3rd and 8 with 5 seconds left from the Wake 40, Golson obviously goes downtown to the end zone where Goodman and Eifert are there for the jump ball, but Goodman is the one who goes up for it and can’t haul it in as it falls incomplete right through his hands. The half ends with the score being tied at 3 apiece and I’m sure everyone at home and in ND stadium is just as pissed about it as BK is.

Come out of the halftime intermission, Wake gets the ball to start the second half and on the kickoff, they take a knee in the end zone for a touchback to start at the 25.

On 1st down, they run the ball up the middle and pick up about 2 before getting taken down by Zeke Motta. On 2nd down they hit the receiver on a screen and they manage to pick up good yardage down to the 37 and get a 1st down. On 1st down, the QB hands it off on a sweep and they manage to get about 3 yards. On 2nd down, the QB tosses it over the middle and they connect down to the Irish 45 for another 1st. On 1st down they toss it underneath for a gain of 5 and on 2nd down, they fake the handoff and toss for a gain of 15 to the receiver who is take down at the ND 25. Having gotten another 1st down, the QB launches it on 1st down and finds an open man who break a tackle at the ND 5 and runs it down to the about the 2 yard line before getting tackled and fumbling the ball which falls softly and sits right at the ND 1 yard line. Another Wake Forest player tries to pounce on it and overshoots the target giving just enough time for Josh Atkinson to land on that fucker and recover it at the 1. Everything seems fucking spectacular until the booth comes in and calls to review the play. After the review they rule that the runner’s knee was down before the fumble (it totally was actually) and so the Deacs get the ball at the Notre Dame 1 ½ yard line with a 1st and Goal.

On 1st down, the defense stupidly gets called for encroachment to make it 1st and goal from the ½ yard line. On 1st down the runner gets stuffed for no gain but on 2nd down the QB drops back and passes quickly to an open receiver for a Wake Forest touchdown. They hit the PAT and take a 10-3 lead.

Notre Dame takes the ensuing kickoff to the 24 yard line.

On 1st down, Golson hands off to Wood who gains 6 yards on the play. On 2nd down Golson decides hes fucking had enough of the bullshit and launches one deep for John Goodman who gets excellent separation from the defender and makes the catch down at the Wake 30 yard line and proceeds to run that fucker all the way down for a Notre Dame touchdown! Notre Dame hits the PAT to tie this one up at 10.

notre dame

Nothing between him and the end zone, put 6 on the board.

On the ensuing kickoff, Wake brings the ball out to the 23 yard line where they’ll get started.

On 1st down the QB hits the tight end for a gain of about 9 to the 32. On 2nd down, they run it up the middle and gain one yard to give them a 1st down. On 1st down, they try to run the option and the QB gets slammed by Prince Shembo for a loss of 4. On 2nd and 14 the QB gets flushed out of the pocket and somehow manages to connect with a man at the 50 for another 1st. On 1st down they try to run it left and get taken down my Manti Te’o for a loss of 4 and on 2nd they try going left and get taken down for a loss of 3 making it 3rd and 17. On 3rd down they try going deep and the ball is knocked down incomplete by Zeke Motta forcing a 4th down. On 4th down they punt it and The Riddick brings the punt to the ND 27 yard line to start the next drive.

On 1st down Golson hands it off to Wood who picks up 4 yards on the carry. On 2nd down, Golson fakes a hand off and lobs it to Goodman who makes the catch down to the Wake 48 yard line for a 1st down. On 1st down Golson looks and hits a wide open Robby Toma at the 38 for another Irish 1st down. On 1st Golson gets pressured and throws one that carries over the middle and sails over everyone’s heads incomplete. On 2nd down Golson goes read option and keeps it busting a huge run up the middle all the way down to the Wake 13 yard line for another ND 1st down. On 1st down Golson hands off to Theo Riddick who gains 4 yards up the middle. This brings the 3rd quarter to an end still tied at 10 all and the Irish are driving…

To start the 4th quarter Golson hands off to Wood in a 4-wide set and no one sees it coming as Wood walks right into the end zone without contest for another Notre Dame touchdown! The converted PAT make this one 17-10 Irish.

Wake takes the ensuing kickoff up to the 27 yard line where they’ll try to tie this one back up.

On 1st down, Stephon Tuitt pressures the QB into throwing it away and on 2nd down the QB redeems himself by hitting the tight end for a 9 yard completion. On 3rd and inches the QB drops back and surveys the field finding his fullback open underneath who then takes the ball up field for a solid pick up and a 1st down at the 44 yard line. On 1st down again, the QB pitches on an option play which gets maybe 3 yards. On 2nd and 7, the QB looks to pass to the back in the flat and overthrows his man and it falls incomplete bringing up 3rd and 7. On 3rd down the QB tosses one to his receiver who makes the catch over the middle and gets the first down at the ND 40 yard line. On 1st down the QB runs another option play this time keeping it himself and gains only about 2 yards before getting taken down by Prince Shembo. On 2nd down they run it to the left and manage to pick up about 5 yards before the back is slammed and goes down injured, and on top of that Wake gets called for holding on the play during the run which puts the ball back at the 47 and they’re set back to 2nd and 17. On 2nd and 17, the QB tried to hit the back underneath but he drops the pass and its 3rd and 17. On 3rd down the QB gets all kinds of time to thrown and once he does, he finds his tight end open who then takes the catch and runs it to the ND 21 for another 1st down. On 1st down the QB tries to roll out for a pass and gets sacked on the play by Stephon Tuitt for a 5 yard loss making it 2nd and 15. On 2nd down, they go for a pass in the end zone and Zeke Motta knocks it down incomplete. On 3rd down, the tendency all game of converting on 3rd proves true still as the QB drops back and passes one over the defender’s head and hits his receiver in the end zone for a touchdown with 2:41 left in the game. Wake Forest elects to keep this one going and kick the PAT and they put it through the uprights to tie it back up at 17 all with regulation winding down. Notre Dame will have a chance to win this one on the next possession…

Davonte Neal takes the ensuing kickoff with victory in mind and he runs it up and shakes two tackles and finally is brought down after returning the kick to the 36 yard line to give the Irish decent field position to start the drive.

On 1st down, Golson hands it off to Wood on a draw and he runs it for 10 yards to the 46 and a 1st down. On 1st down again, Golson tosses one over to the far sideline where Tyler Eifert is there to make the catch at the Wake 32 for another 1st down. On 1st down Golson hands it off to Wood who gains about a yard on the play. On 2nd down Golson sits in the pocket and scans the field until he finds a wide open Goodman on the near sideline who takes the catch and turns it up field to the Wake 7 before being pushed out of bounds, giving the Irish another 1st down. On 1st down from the 7 Golson drops back and hands off to Theo Riddick on a delayed hand off and he weaves through 4 defenders and punches it into the end zone for another Irish touchdown and they’re back on top 24-17 following the PAT! Good shit!

theo riddick

Theo Riddick gets to take one to the house…FINALLY!

Notre Dame kicks the ball off with 1:56 left to play which is too much time in my opinion, and Wake brings the ball out to the 19 where they’ll try to knot it back up.

On 1st down, the QB drops back and hits his receiver over the middle to the 31 and a 1st. On 1st down again, he goes deep this time and somehow finds a man open all the way down at the ND 17 fucking yard line. Jesus Christ…On 1st down again, the QB tries to rollout and at the end of his rollout he’s met in the backfield by Danny Spond who sacks the shit out of him for a loss of 9 on the play making it 2nd and 19. On 2nd down, the QB tries to hit his receiver and it falls incomplete after a big hit by Jamoris Slaighter making it 3rd down. On 3rd down and 19, the QB passes it to left this time and just as the receiver was going to make the catch, Jalen Brown comes it and breaks up the pass with what should have 100% been a fucking pick but instead it falls to the ground incomplete giving this offense one last shot at the end zone on 4th down . On 4th down and 19 they line up and the QB drops back to pass it. He looks for his man and launches one to the end zone where his receiver is triple covered and Slaughter jumps up to break up the pass in the air and it falls incomplete. The ball is officially turned over on downs to Notre Dame with 1:21 left in the game and both teams have all 3 timeouts so we’re not done yet folks.

Notre Dame takes over at the 26 and on 1st down Golson hands it off to Wood who picks up 5 yards to make it 2nd and 5. Wake uses a timeout as you might expect here. From the time out, on 2nd down Goslon hands it off to Wood again and he manages to gain about 6 yards to pick up a 1st down at the 37 yard line as Wake is forced to use another timeout. On 1st down again from the 37, Golson hands it back off to Wood who gain another 13 yards and essentially seals this one up. Wake uses their last timeout which is pointless because on 1st down here, Golson lines them up in victory formation and takes a couple of knees to put this one away. The Irish survive a home scare and come out on top 24-17.

Man that shit was close!! But alas, we have emerged victorious and somehow didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot anywhere along the way. Surprising what a no-turnover game can do for a final score isn’t it? Honestly, Golson had a lot of highs, and I can count at least 3 lows (getting sacked) but his role players stepped up, Cierre Wood stepped up, John Goodman took that bomb to the house and fuck, even Riddick got a taste of pay dirt during this game. The run defense was insanely sound but MAN the pass defense was fucking atrocious. I guess the bottom line here is we didn’t end up losing another one we “shouldn’t” and that should give us something to cheer about heading into next weekend’s likely manhandling at the hands of USC. But we’ll worry about it later. For now, in the words of Flogging Molly: WE DRINK AND DRINK AND DRINK AND DRINK AND DRINK AND DRINK AND FIGHT! FIGHT!

Golson: 13/18, 215 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT, 72% completion, 3 sacks 
Goodman: 7 Recs, 163 yds, 1 TD, Long of 70 yds
Wood: 13 Carries, 77 yds, 1 TD

Simulation Rundown

About The Subway Domer

Warlord and Emperor of the Subway Alumni... also, I do this "dad" thing pretty damn well.

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