'Deac Ball' rolling along at Wake Forest

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe and his players have different definitions of their brand of football.<br> <br> Regardless, ``Deac Ball&#39;&#39; appears to be working.<br> <br> Wake Forest has won three straight games heading into Saturday&#39;s game at North Carolina State, including a come-from-behind 17-14 win against future Atlantic Coast Conference member Boston College.<br> <br> ``Our coaches laugh about it,&#39;&#39; Grobe said of the nickname. ``Because we&#39;ve won some games and come back and look at the film on Sunday and wonder how we did it. So it just kind of speaks to the kids and how they like to compete.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> In last weekend&#39;s win, Cory Randolph found Willie Idlette for a 40-yard touchdown with 1:09 to play. Grobe, who is 6-3 against instate ACC opponents, said that even though the Demon Deacons (3-1, 0-1) didn&#39;t play their best game, they hung around to make their move in the final period.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s a fun way to coach, but it puts a lot of gray hairs on your head,&#39;&#39; he said. ``But I think the nice thing about our football team is we&#39;ve got guys that like to play the game and they like to play hard.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Senior center Blake Lingruen smiled when he was asked what ``Deac Ball&#39;&#39; means.<br> <br> ``We are a running-based team and people like to say we are a finesse offense a little bit,&#39;&#39; he said about the team&#39;s rushing attack, which ranks second in the ACC with 247.2 yards a game.<br> <br> ``But at the same time we can play some smash-mouth football and play to the whistle on every play. That&#39;s the best way to describe it. We play to the end of every play.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Demon Deacons will look for their first 4-1 start since 1987, and will need to play ``Deac Ball&#39;&#39; well to beat the Wolfpack&#39;s stingy defense. N.C. State leads the nation in total defense, allowing 165 yards per game, while holding opponents to 1.7 yards per carry.<br> <br> ``We&#39;ve been looking at it for a while now and our coaches haven&#39;t been sleeping very well,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``They are really physical and tough and a hard-nosed defense. They certainly have lots of ability.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Grobe&#39;s teams have had a tendency to follow big wins with letdowns, and he&#39;s hoping this year&#39;s team is different. He said last year&#39;s team, which closed the year with three straight losses after upsetting Clemson, had too many highs and lows.<br> <br> ``I don&#39;t know where we are emotionally right now, but I know we are playing hard,&#39;&#39; he said.

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