Demon Deacons churning up yards on ground

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Jim Grobe believes it&#39;s unrealistic for a school like Wake Forest to line up and try to beat the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference at its own game. <br> <br> So, in less than two seasons as head coach of the Demon Deacons, Grobe has installed an offense that is driving the rest of the league batty. <br> <br> After finishing 10th in the nation in rushing a season ago, the Demon Deacons (2-2, 0-1 ACC) head into this weekend&#39;s game against Virginia (2-2, 0-1) averaging 230.5 yards on the ground, continuing to frustrate opponents with a variety of twists and turns. <br> <br> ``They&#39;re quite unique to the teams that we&#39;ve played this year,&#39;&#39; Virginia coach Al Groh said. ``I can see elements of the I-formation, power running, wishbone offense and a little wing-T. They&#39;re a blend of Air Force and Nebraska.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> This could be a tough matchup for the young Cavaliers, since they&#39;re ranked 109th in the nation against the run. <br> <br> ``All three of our down three are brand new players,&#39;&#39; Groh said. ``In this game, and as the year goes on, they&#39;ll be the critical factors in how we play the run.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Wake Forest has five players with 125 rushing yards or more through four games. <br> <br> ``It can be a problem if you can&#39;t get enough carries for them,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``I&#39;d like to get to the point where we&#39;re throwing the ball 25 to 30 times a game. But in our first three games we just didn&#39;t do that very well and I felt like we shot ourselves in the foot against N.C. State, trying to throw the ball too much.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Grobe was forced to play several running backs when 1,000-yard rusher Tarence Williams missed the opening part of the season after recovering from a broken foot. <br> <br> ``The best thing we have there now is competition,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``It&#39;s hard to take care of four running backs, but they know they&#39;ve got to perform.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Wake Forest&#39;s prowess in the running game is a given, but Groh is also worried about Fabian Davis, Wake Forest&#39;s versatile wide receiver who is second in the ACC in all-purpose yardage (150 yards per game) and punt returns (18.4). <br> <br> ``Davis is one of the better players in the conference,&#39;&#39; Groh said. ``He runs from scrimmage, he catches passes, he returns kicks and he does them all with speed. He is one of their fastest players and they&#39;re trying to take advantage of that speed in multiple ways.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Virginia had beaten Wake Forest 17 straight times before the Demon Deacons pulled out a 34-30 win at Charlottesville, Va., last year. And the Cavaliers are 15-4 all-time at Groves Stadium. <br> <br> ``These guys will be after us,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``We&#39;ve got a little bit of a target on our chests. They want to rebound and get that streak started up again.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Grobe hopes his team isn&#39;t too overconfident following a 24-21 road win against Purdue - arguably the biggest so far in Grobe&#39;s short tenure with the Demon Deacons. <br> <br> ``One of the dangers is we&#39;ve got to keep our feet on the ground and realize we&#39;re the same football team,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``We&#39;ve got to work for everything we get.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Wake Forest and Virginia have each forced 16 turnovers in four games tops in the ACC.