The rock barely missed this time for David. Upset was in the air. The fans could smell it. The Demon Deacon football team could taste it. And Goliath, the No. 20 Florida State Seminoles, could see it ¯ and then they shattered the dream, by withstanding an early Deacon run and blasting by for a 34-21 victory on Nov. 2 at Groves Stadium. The game was televised regionally on ESPN2.

All signs pointed to yes for the Deacons early on in the game, especially the sign that hung near the south end zone that read, "Yes we can!" With the Deacs sporting sleek full-black outfits and coming off a dominating performance against UNC, and Florida State and two straight losses to Miami and Notre Dame, "the team (Wake Forest) gave off a certain electricity and that carried into the crowd," according to one diehard, and heartbroken, Deac fan.

Senior quarterback James MacPherson and company took control from the get-go after receiving the opening kickoff, and simply ran through the FSU defense, being keyed by back-to-back 27-yard runs by senior running back Tarence Williams. Three plays later, senior fullback Ovie Mughelli bullied in for a 3-yard score. The Deacons led 7-0 with 12:56 still remaining in the first quarter. Their drive covered 80 yards on six plays.

Florida State's subsequent drive lasted all of one play. Sophomore quarterback Adrian McPherson ¯ making his first career collegiate start in the stead of benched Chris Rix ¯ tried to beat the Deacons and failed. Junior cornerback Daryl Shaw got in the way of a McPheson fly route to receiver Talman Gardner, nabbing a Demon Deac interception and sending an already ecstatic crowd into hyper-drive. MacPherson lined the offense back up at the Wake Forest 25-yard line.

The 'Noles "D" still seemed to be recovering from shock, as the Deacon running attack continued to pummel away. Williams, MacPherson and Mughelli were running through holes a semi truck could fit through ¯ courtesy of the powerful Wake Forest offensive line ¯ with the speed and pace of a blitzkrieg. The drive culminated with freshman Chris Barclay's burst up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown with 8:25 left in the first, giving Head Coach Jim Grobe's Gang a stunning 14-zip early lead.

The sleeping giant slowly started to rumble however. Junior running back Greg Jones, an All-American candidate coming into the game, steadied the offense, slowly pushing back the Deacon defense. However, they faltered at the Deac 30, and a 47-yard field goal by Xavier Beitia failed to go through the uprights. The score still read 14-0 with 4:34 left.

Now it was the Demon Deacons' turn to cringe after missed opportunities. After pushing back FSU yet again, a 38-yard field goal by sophomore Matt Wisnosky was blocked, giving the ball back to the Seminoles at the end of the first quarter.

This time, there would be no almost for Bowden's Boys, and Goliath finally started to show some offensive precision again. McPherson torched the secondary, while Jones ripped through the front-7. A 19-yard strike to Gardner finally put Goliath back in business, with 12:40 left in the half, as the scoreboard now read 14-7.

McPherson's quick learning curve would play a large role in the outcome of the game. "He did a real good job of running their offense," Grobe said. "We knew he was very athletic and he had a great game."

The following Deacon drive found the team unable to capitalize again, stalling inside the 'Noles red zone, followed by another errant Wisnosky field goal, this attempt being 32 yards. However, senior defensive end Calvin Pace ensured that no more Bowden shenanigans would plague Groves Stadium, for the present at least, as he recovered a McPherson fumble, and giving the MacPherson with an "A" the ball back at the FSU 34. This time, Williams didn't allow for the special teams to fail, running for 25 yards on the first play of the drive. Three plays later, MacPherson parachuted in the ball to sophomore receiver Jason Anderson on a nifty fade route for the 12-yard score, propelling the Deacons to a 21-7 lead with 5:50 left.

David's momentum would not last; in fact, one could argue that at this point, he had run out of rocks. FSU pulverized Grobe's defense in the final minutes of the half, netting a 31-yard field goal by Beitia on the drive after Anderson's nab, and sealing fast a Deacon drive with 1:14 left. The real buzzkill however happened as McPherson made Groves look like his own personal playground (with a Nerf ball no less), tossing for 57 yards in the final minute, ending on a 9-yard pass to receiver Anquan Boldin with only 13 seconds left in the half. The late Seminole charge sent the teams into the locker rooms with a Deacon 21-17 lead, but with Bowden clearly in possession of the momentum. Furthermore, Deacon senior receiver Fabian Davis had left the game with a hip pointer, a blow to the offense that would come into play later in the game

"Losing Fabian really hurt us," Grobe said. "Especially on special teams."

For Demon Deacon fans, the second half lacked the vigor and pizzazz the first half possessed. For Seminole fans, the second half allowed the first sigh of relief in about a month mixed with a horrifying injury that could mean doomsday for Tallahassee. The "Noles received the kickoff, and got right to work.

However, Jones crumpled to the ground after a run up the middle. He wouldn't return to the game, and in the following week, it was announced that Jones will miss the rest of the season with an injured MCL and a torn ACL.

Despite this heavy loss, the Seminoles did not relent and continued to press. Jones' replacement at running back, Nick Maddox, picked up where the starter left off, and churned in for a 3-yard score with 10:50 left in the third. More importantly, Maddox gave FSU the lead for the first time in the game, 24-21.

The rest of the third quarter, for the lack of a better term, was boring, as both teams battled for field possession.

However, the fourth quarter opened with Florida State threatening to add to their lead. However, Grobe's Gang caught a break, as Beitia missed his third field goal of the game, this one at 45 yards. The Deacons had field position, the ball and a chance at one of the greatest upsets in school history.

The offense finally shed the second-half trend of not moving the ball, and drove into Seminole territory. However, their shot at a tie game fell short with Wisnosky's third missed field goal of the game, a 41-yarder, with 9:03 left in the game.

The defense rallied, however, and held McPherson and company to a rare second-half three-and-out, giving Wake Forest another shot for history.

Almost. The punt by the 'Noles' Chance Gwaltney traveled 44 yards. Davis is the normal Deacon punt returner, but due to his injury, redshirt freshman Derek Tharpe was returning. Tharpe muffed Gwaltney's kick, and the ball was recovered by FSU's Jared Hetzel with 7:52 left.

"Derek Tharpe does fine in practice," Grobe said. "There are no excuses. He's young and he'll get better."

Florida State could sense victory and wasn't about to relent. They methodically pushed back the Demon Deacon defense, making to sure to milk as much clock as possible. A 34-yard gallop by Maddox only sealed the deal, giving FSU the 34-21 victory.

"Florida State came out and made big plays and we also shot ourselves in the foot a lot of times," junior wide receiver Anthony Young said.

The Seminoles finished with 533 total yards, compared to 383 from Wake Forest.

Williams led the rushing attack with 149 yards on 19 carries, while Young turned in his best haul thus far at the receiver position, with four receptions for 59 yards.

FSU improved to 6-3 overall, 5-0 in the ACC. The Deacons dropped to 5-5 overall, 3-4 in league play.

The Demon Deacons now have the following two weeks off before a Nov. 23 showdown with the Navy Midshipmen at Groves.