After celebration, No. 15 Demon Deacons prepare for Orange Bowl

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - For a few days, Wake Forest&#39;s Aaron Curry wasn&#39;t just a linebacker. He was also a celebrity.<br> <br> Curry returned home to Fayetteville after final exams and went to the local shopping mall, where he wound up signing autographs and shaking hands with adoring strangers all because of the Demon Deacons&#39; surprising run to the Atlantic Coast Conference title.<br> <br> ``I was kind of surprised when people I didn&#39;t know were approaching me you have your helmet on on the field, and nobody knows your face,&#39;&#39; the Wake Forest linebacker said Tuesday. ``But I couldn&#39;t go anywhere, really.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Curry&#39;s brief brush with fame is over, and now he and the 15th-ranked Demon Deacons (11-2) are back on campus preparing for the biggest game in school history when they face No. 5 Louisville (11-1) on Jan. 2 in the Orange Bowl.<br> <br> ``There is a danger in being so caught up in what you&#39;ve done that you don&#39;t get ready for the next challenge,&#39;&#39; coach Jim Grobe said. ``That&#39;s what we&#39;re trying to stress to the players. ... We&#39;re proud to be in the Orange Bowl, and going to south Florida to play the game, but how well we play has got to be our focus.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Grobe tried to clear the players&#39; minds by sending them home for about two weeks and instructed them rest, refocus and forget about football for a while.<br> <br> That wasn&#39;t easy. The Demon Deacons couldn&#39;t forget their improbable ACC title and 9-6 victory over Georgia Tech in the championship game, and couldn&#39;t stop daydreaming about their impending matchup with Brian Brohm and Co.<br> <br> ``You&#39;re always in the back of your mind thinking, shoot, we&#39;re playing in the BCS and the Orange Bowl,&#39;&#39; linebacker Jon Abbate said. ``It&#39;s one of those things that you totally can&#39;t get out of your mind and not think about.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Demon Deacons are dealing with a lengthy layoff. They had two weeks off between the ACC title game and the resumption of practice this past Saturday, and there are still two weeks before the bowl game.<br> <br> ``The hard thing is getting used to doing all the things we&#39;ve been doing all year long, then taking (some time) off from it,&#39;&#39; Curry said. ``But my focus was still the same it&#39;s all I thought about when I went home. I worked out the whole week, knowing that I&#39;ve got to come back in my best shape. It&#39;s just hard for my body to get used to the small things, like how to change direction and change it back again.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Grobe said he asked Virginia Tech&#39;s Frank Beamer for advice on how to handle the 31-day break between games.<br> <br> ``I haven&#39;t had a lot of experience with a week at the bowl site,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``The preparation leading up to the bowl game is a concern of mine.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> But the Wake Forest coach is trying to find the balance between viewing the Orange Bowl as simply a reward for a successful season, and being determined to win the game.<br> <br> ``Being in the Orange Bowl&#39;s not good enough yet,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``You have to play well.&#39;&#39;