Wake Forest hopes restful weekend helps against Florida State

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will need every ounce of rejuvenation it got from a weekend off when it faces fifth-ranked Florida State on Saturday.<br> <br> The Demon Deacons are tied for last place with Duke in the ACC, while Florida State is coming off an impressive 36-3 win over 14th-ranked Virginia.<br> <br> But Wake Forest&#39;s losses have all been close, including overtime losses to Clemson and North Carolina State.<br> <br> In their last game the Demon Deacons had a chance late in the game to tie Virginia Tech but came up five yards short in a 17-10 loss.<br> <br> ``We&#39;ve had the market on close games and we&#39;ve come up short in some of them,&#39;&#39; coach Jim Grobe said. ``We really went through six football games having mentally and physically (been) ready every Saturday and I think we took our best shot in every one of them. Unfortunately, we ended up 3-3.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Grobe says the weekend off gave the team a chance to ``regroup emotionally.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Offensive lineman Steve Vallos said the break came at the right time.<br> <br> ``We were hurting after the last couple of weeks with those close losses,&#39;&#39; Vallos said, ``so we really needed this week off to kind of get our heads together.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Grobe, who is in his fourth season, is 21-21 with half of those wins coming by eight points or less. And in the 21 losses, 13 of them have been by eight points or less.<br> <br> Senior linebacker Caron Bracy has been around for all of those games.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s a great thing going down to the wire like that,&#39;&#39; Bracy said. ``If you are a competitor you want it to be close like that so hopefully we&#39;ve learned from those three close games we&#39;ve had this season. Hopefully, if we are in that situation again later this year we&#39;ll come out on top this time.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Losing close ones tends to age the coaching staff, Grobe says.<br> <br> ``We just tend to lose more sleep,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``You just always go back and look at ways you could have been better. ... We&#39;ve had chances in every game, but just couldn&#39;t get it done.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Bracy said the close losses prove the Demon Deacons are a good team.<br> <br> ``It just shows we can play with anybody in the country,&#39;&#39; Bracy said. ``We are always in the game and we are going to compete with anybody. That&#39;s been our attitude all year.&#39;&#39;

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