Film Friday: Cam Ward vs. Wake Forest

Okay, guys - I have one more Cam Ward spam fest to get through this summer before we start shifting gears and discussing the upcoming season. I just had to add this game to our rotation. On the surface, this game probably doesn’t look that interesting. The Hurricanes won 42-14, and Ward went 27/38 for 280 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. That was good for a cringy 50.7 QBR. But, folks - that’s why we always go deeper (that’s what she said) than the surface here on Stacking The Inbox. I actually ended up loving this game.

I chose it for a couple of reasons. For one, I wanted to study a game that Ward didn’t look too hot in. I’ve been vocal about my criticisms of his game. It’s no secret - I’ve said plenty of times that he has a downright head-scratcher in seemingly every game. There are things that concern me about Ward, and I wanted to see what it looked like in a game when the box score said he struggled. I ended up being quite impressed. I didn’t feel like the QBR told the story of this game. It was very much a methodical “feeling out” type of game. It took some figuring out on the part of Ward and the Miami offense. His efficiency ended up allowing the offense to pull away late in this game and make it look like a more convincing win than it actually was. But, Wake Forest was in this game for quite a bit of it, and that leads me to the second reason I chose this game.

Dave Clawson took over the helm at Wake Forest back in 2013. After back to back 3-9 seasons, he turned the program around and made it a consistent bowl team. Wake Forest even made it to the ACC Championship in 2021. They’ve been one of those under-the-radar programs that have played some really good ball the last decade, but casual fans don’t really seem to know ‘em. Clawson resigned as head coach in December 2024, deciding it was time to hang up the headset and ride off into the sunset. But under Clawson, the Demon Deacons were known for their 4-2-5 defense. I don’t study all 32 NFL teams at the rate that I study the Titans. But, from what I gather, the 4-2-5 nickel package is a staple of most NFL defenses. It works a little differently than in college, where a team’s base defense largely defines the scheme. In the NFL, defenses are hybrid…multiple…whatever you want to say…they have a package and a look for everything. While there is a base defense, things are pretty damn fluid. Nonetheless, I thought this was a good litmus test from a tape study perspective because this is probably the closest to a bona fide NFL scheme that Ward saw in 2024.