At first it was exciting. A pair of F-15's flew low over the stands at the start of the game. Then I saw Tank Johnson in the stands (I wondered what he was up to during the suspension). Then I realized it was a woman. Things went down hill from there.

I might as well get this out of the way as well. Similar story, different row. If you're a woman over sixty you probably want to stay away from tight fighting lycra. I've seen the gravity and the damage done. Oh, the humanity.

And there was a football game, one that marked a turning point for 0-2 Wake Forest. But based on the team's play today, it could turn into a last cigarette before the firing squad. This is not last year's BCS caliber team. The Demon Deacons were neither demonic or deaconesque today. Demon Deacons? More like the Mildly Annoying Organ Committee.

The problem is simple. Wake is a system team which appears to have come to believe, based on last year's success, that it is a talent team capable of pushing past less talented opposition. USC (the United Sociology majors of California) is a talent team. Arkansas is a talent team. Even Michigan is a talent team, (although the talent is for self destruction). Wake Forest is not a talent team. The guys from Camel City are a system team that must execute a complicated offense with precise blocking schemes to win.

Army is neither a system team nor a talent team. They are a hustle team. Hustle teams work harder than their opponents. They run to the ball in numbers. They execute an offense with fewer plays than the number of felony arrests on your typical SEC team. Likeable, lovable, admirable, they are a home for all the kids who are small in size but big in heart.

But heart isn't enough. Early on Army put together some first downs and held the line defensively. Then Kenneth Moore returned a punt 55 yards for a TD and Army's illusions were knocked as flat as their punter trying to bring down Moore. A turnover later, Wake was up 14-0 on a 10 yard run from Josh Adams. Army was winning on most plays, but losing the war on the big ones.

The script from this point should have included Wake hitting their stride on offense. It should have ended with a 35-7 win and alot of smiles and good will. Instead it turned into the football equivalent of a speech by Hilary Clinton. You hope it will end, intellectually you know it eventually will have to end, but then why won't it....ever....stop.

Army got back to 14-7 in the second quarter and was deep in Wake Forest territory late in the half. Then the Black Knight quarterback, Carson Williams spotted a man open and laid it right in the numbers. That the player was Wake linebacker Aaron Curry who ran the INT back 84 yards is a pity. It was a really well thrown pass.

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe went in at the half and made some adjustments, hoping things would change. They did. The Deacons were shut out in the second half by Army, a team that had been muscled by Akron and nearly lost last Saturday to Rhode Island. To their credit, Army hung in and nearly hit some big passes which would have made a game of it.

The Deacons also threw the ball, racking up 49 yards in the air. Let's say 147 feet. That sounds more impressive. Being good hosts they also fumbled the ball away three times. And when it was over Army had run 15 more plays and gained 43 more yards. But lost 21-10.

The star of the game was Wake Forest's special teams, specifically Moore and punter Sam Swank. Swank is a junior and maybe the best kicker in college football. After an off day against Nebraska he consistently nailed the ball on punts and kickoffs and had one kick downed on the Army 10. Moore is a senior receiver who hadn't shown much before this season but is very explosive with the ball in the open field.

After the game Grobe praised his defense, which did keep the game in hand when Army had chances in the second half. But this was a defense that consistently gave up positive yardage to a much smaller opponent.

And so it goes. It was the kind of game which leaves you with questions. For instance, why would someone in a furry Army mule mascot suit walk back and forth in front of the mist blowing fan device? Could it possibly help? Why did Army have an Air Force flyover if the Army Air Corp has been out of business since 1947? And why does Wake Forest insist on calling their stadium the "Wrigley Field of College Football"?

I can't answer those questions, but I can tell you this. Unless the Wake Forest offense gets it's act together, it will be a long Saturday next week against Maryland.