Duke's Mayo Bowl preview: A quick look at Wake Forest

Wisconsin's first non-conference clash of the 2020 campaign will come at the end of its season, as the Badgers will take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Dec. 30 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

“I’m excited that our players have earned the opportunity to play another game with each other,” Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst said in a statement released by the program on Sunday. “We have said throughout this season that all we want is a chance to play. With all that has gone on and especially after yesterday, our guys are excited for one more opportunity. I want to thank the Duke’s Mayo Bowl for extending the invitation to us and we look forward to preparing to play a good Wake Forest team.”

Here's a quick primer on the Demon Deacons, who like the Badgers sit at .500 heading into the Dec. 30 extravaganza that will be played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (11 a.m. CT, ESPN).

Wake Forest has only played two games total in the months of November and December, thanks to a bye week and a trio of contests not being played (and a whole lot of rearranging, as seen below). All four wins came in the month of October, which included victories over ACC opponents Virginia and then No. 19 Virginia Tech.

Some of the high-profile losses by Dave Clawson's program include a 37-13 season-opening defeat to then No. 1-Clemson and a close 59-53 contest to now-No. 14 North Carolina. In that conference battle with the Tar Heels, both teams combined for 979 yards of offense.

After that matchup with North Carolina, Wake Forest did not play again until its 45-21 loss to Louisville on Dec. 12. Like Wisconsin, Wake Forest has seen its season modified greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its Nov. 21 matchup with Duke was canceled due to "decision follows positive tests and subsequent quarantining within the Wake Forest football team," according to an ACC press release on Nov. 17. Then the Dec. 5 clash with Miami was "postponed" after, you guessed it, "positive tests, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Wake Forest football team," according to a Nov. 28 ACC press release.

That wiped out a matchup against the Hurricanes that had already been bumped a week from late November to early December.

The ACC also moved the program's schedule around, taking Notre Dame off of it on Dec. 12 and inserting an away game at Louisville for that date as seen in its Dec. 1 release. The conference also announced a Dec. 19 game against Florida State, but that was canned because the Seminoles "informed the conference office of a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing resulting in Florida State having an insufficient number of available offensive linemen as outlined in the ACC Medical Advisory Group’s COVID-19 game discontinuation considerations" (once again according to an ACC release).

So, Wake Forest will have 18 days' rest between games compared to Wisconsin's 11.

*Points per game: 37.3

*Opponents points per game: 31.6

*Rushing yards per game: 169.6

*Opponents rushing yards per game: 191.0

*Passing yards per game: 265.8

*Opponents' passing yards per game: 265.9

*Third-down conversions: 40.2%

*Opponents' third-down conversions: 43.0%

*Total turnovers created: 3 (one interception, two fumble recoveries)

*Total turnovers given up: 16 (12 interceptions, four lost fumbles)

*Sacks: 17

*Sacks allowed: 26

In five of its games, Wake Forest has scored at least 38 points; on the flip side, it has given up at least 37 in four of its eight contests in 2020.

The ACC program accumulated a season-high 299 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in a non-conference win against Campbell on Oct. 2 (its conference high was 206 on 4.2 yards per carry against Virginia Tech later that month), while it threw for at least 250 yards in five of its eight games. Clemson contained Clawson's offense to a season-low 37 yards on 34 attempts in the Sept. 12 opener.

Looking at the Demon Deacons' defense, the Badgers could have a significant advantage in the ground game and asserting their will at the line of scrimmage. Wake Forest has allowed at least 185 yards in that category in six of its eight games, and opponents are averaging 4.8 yards per carry overall. The largest amount of yards given up was 270 yards on 49 carries (5.5 yards per carry) against N.C. State on Sept. 19, while most recently Louisville tallied 254 on 47 attempts (5.4) on Dec. 12.

Defending opponents' aerial attacks, Wake Forest has allowed at least 223 yards four times in 2020. It gave up a season-low 142 yards to 1-10 Syracuse on Oct. 31, while the big outlier here is the 550 yards that North Carolina ran up on them in mid-November. The Tar Heels threw for six of the 16 touchdown passes allowed by the Deacon Deacons this year.

*Running back Christian Beal-Smith: 121 carries, 650 yards, 5.4 yards per carry, four touchdowns

*Running back Kenneth Walker III (opted-out in early December): 119 carries, 579 yards, 4.9 yards per carry, 13 touchdowns

*Quarterback Sam Hartman: 139-of-236 (58.9% completion percentage), 1,906 yards, 10 touchdowns, one interception

*Wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson: 54 receptions, 795 yards, five touchdowns

*Wide receiver Donavon Greene: 23 receptions, 460 yards, two touchdowns

*Wide receiver Taylor Morin: 27 receptions, 314 yards, three touchdowns

*Linebacker Ja'Cquez Williams: 62 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sack, one pass breakup, two quarterback hurries, one forced fumble

*Defensive back Nick Andersen: 55 tackles, three interceptions, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery

*Defensive back Traveon Redd: 41 tackles, four tackles for loss, one interception, one pass breakup, two quarterback hurries

*Defensive back Ja'Sir Taylor: 40 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, six pass breakups

*Defensive lineman Miles Fox: 23 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one pass breakup, one quarterback hurry, one fumble recovery

*Defensive end Jacorey Johns: 30 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three quarterback hurries

*Defensive lineman Carlos Basham, Jr.: 28 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, one pass breakup, two quarterback hurries, one forced fumble

*Linebacker Ryan Smenda, Jr.: 36 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three quarterback hurries, one forced fumble

*Defensive back A.J. Williams: 30 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry

Update: Dec. 27: Correctly updating the number of sacks and turnovers (both gained and given up)