Wake Forest @ Vanderbilt preview
Vanderbilt Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 24, 2012 ) Vanderbilt 55, Wake Forest 21
Wake Forest and host Vanderbilt will meet in Saturday's non-conference game going in opposite directions. The Commodores have outscored opponents 70-33 during a three-game winning streak while the Demon Deacons have been outscored 124-45 during a four-game losing streak. Vanderbilt, bowl eligible for the third straight year, can record back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time since 1927-28 while Wake Forest will miss a bowl for the fourth time in five seasons.
The Demon Deacons have struggled offensively since losing leading receiver Michael Campanaro (collarbone) on Nov. 2. Vanderbilt's Jordan Matthews is closing in on another SEC receiving record as the Commodores have found success with a two-quarterback rotation. Vanderbilt leads the series 9-6 and has won the past two meetings by a combined 96-28.
TV: 12:21 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: Vanderbilt -14
ABOUT WAKE FOREST (4-7): Quarterback Tanner Price has accounted for 64 career touchdowns (52 passing, 11 rushing, one receiving) and needs one more to tie Riley Skinner's school record of 65. The Demon Deacons have passed for 187 yards in two games without Campanaro (67 catches for 803 yards, six TDs) and are searching for a go-to receiver. Josh Harris leads the rushing attack with 435 yards and four touchdowns and Wake Forest ranks 117th with 92.5 rushing yards per game.
ABOUT VANDERBILT (7-4): Matthews, the SEC career leader in receptions (246) and receiving yards (3,491), needs two catches to break the league's single-season record (97 by Vanderbilt's Keith Edwards in 1983) and four catches to become the first SEC player with 100 in a season. Austyn Carta-Samuels has started the past two games after missing two starts with a left knee injury while mobile Patton Robinette continues to get snaps, including the game-winning touchdown run last week against Tennessee. The Commodores have forced 19 takeaways in their last five games and are second in the SEC with a plus-8 turnover margin.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Vanderbilt is 10-1 in non-conference games under third-year coach James Franklin.
2. The Commodores are 9-2 in the month of November with eight straight wins under Franklin after going 3-23 in November in the decade prior.
3. Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is tied with Douglas "Peahead" Walker (1937-50) as the school's winningest coach at 77 victories.
PREDICTION: Vanderbilt 33, Wake Forest 18