For those interested in seeing Europe without the constant, hectic bustle of tourism, relaxing cruises on the Rhine River have proven to be a hit. In addition to a never-ending opportunity to learn to speak German, here is a list of several fun activities to partake in during a Rhine River cruise: Allstate: This town includes a medieval castle, a parish church dating to 1794, a historical museum, and numerous delicious restaurants. Glattfelden: Situated on the River Glatt just above its junction with the Rhine, this town is the hometown of Swiss writer Gottfried Keller and is frequently referred to in his novel “Der grüne Heinrich.” Over an old stone bridge is the nearby old town of Eglisau. Rheinfelden: A little town of 7,000 inhabitants situated on the left bank of the river, Rheinfelden is home to a popular salt-water spa, ancient walls and towers, the Fricktaler Museum, and St. Martin’s Church, which dates back to the 15th century. German Beer: Germans produce the best beer in th...
Jim Grobe has done a fantastic job in his 11 years at Wake Forest.. Grobe has taken the smallest BCS school in the country and made them competitive.. Five of the schools 10 bowl games have come under Grobe. He also guided Wake Forest to an ACC title in 2006 after over 35 years of drought. Few coaches can get more out of the players..
Wake Forest is coming off a season where they finished tied for 2nd in the ACC Atlantic at 5-3.. After falling to Mississippi State 17-23 in the Music City Bowl the Demon Deacons ended the year at 6-7 overall.. This year could be a rebuilding year for Grobe as only 11 starters return.
Offense
The offense put up solid numbers of 26.0 points and 368 total yards/game last year. The offense returns just four starters, so it will be hard to see this unit matching its solid 2011 numbers.
While the offense loses a lot, they get back their star quarterback in Tanner Price. He completed 60.0% of his passes for 3,017 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. With Price at center, Wake Forest will always have a chance; unfortunately there just aren't much great pieces around him.
Wake Forest loses their Lead rusher Brandon Pendergrass, but they do bring back junior Josh Harris and sophomore Orville Reynolds. The loss of Pendergrass is huge and it seems as though Reynolds and Harris will share the bulk of the carries.
Another key piece they lose is leading receiver Chris Givens, and his production is irreplaceable. They do have junior WR Michael Campanaro as a fallback, and he figures to be the go-to-guy this season. Senior WR Terrance Davis also returns, but this receiving corps is young and inexperienced aside from these two.
Their offensive line suffered the biggest hit as they lose four starters up front, including first-team All-ACC LG Joe Looney. This unit has just 16 career starts returning and their lone starter coming back is senior C Garrick Williams. This O-line is in such disarray that Grobe had no choice but bring over former D-linemen Frank Souza and Ramon Booi to fill in.
Defense
With the offense looking like it will be down a notch in 2012, the Demon Deacons are counting on their defense to keep them in games this season. Last year, this unit allowed opposing offenses to score 27.5 ppg and rack up nearly 400 yards of offense.. They arguably lose their two best players on this side of the ball, but will have plenty of experience with seven starters coming back.
The Deacons had a very miserable year on the defensive side last season and they need the defensive line to play much better. They have the chance to do just that with two returning starters for their 3-4 scheme. Second-Team All-ACC awardee NG Nikita Whitlock comes back and junior DE Zach Thompson is coming back as well.
The linebacker corps loses second-team All-ACC LB Kyle Wilber to the NFL. However, this unit should be improved considering five of their top six linebackers return. That includes senior OLB Joey Ehrmann, senior WLB Riley Haynes and senior MLB Scott Betros.
The secondary also loses two of its best players in third-team All-American FS Josh Bush and SS Cyhl Quarles. They do bring back sophomore sensation CB Merrill "Bud" Noel, who set a school record with 19 pass break-ups as a freshman last year. The other returning starter in the secondary is senior CB Kenny Okoro.
Head over to Football Free Picks during the regular season and follow the odds for every Wake Forest game, plus get expert advice on who to take against the spread.
ACC Atlantic Division Prediction - 6th Place
Unfortunately for the Deacons, they lose many of their best players to be able to contend for an Atlantic Division title again. With all their key losses in RB Pendergrass, WR Givens, SS Quarles, LB Wilbers and FS Bush, they just don't have what it takes to be competitive despite having QB Tanner Price and other solid players returning. Their offensive line is extremely inexperienced with three underclassmen starting up front. Price could very well regress in 2012 simply because he won't have time to deliver the ball. The Deacons only have Duke and Boston College as winnable conference games, other than that, this team has very little chance of getting more conference wins.
Wake Forest is coming off a season where they finished tied for 2nd in the ACC Atlantic at 5-3.. After falling to Mississippi State 17-23 in the Music City Bowl the Demon Deacons ended the year at 6-7 overall.. This year could be a rebuilding year for Grobe as only 11 starters return.
Offense
The offense put up solid numbers of 26.0 points and 368 total yards/game last year. The offense returns just four starters, so it will be hard to see this unit matching its solid 2011 numbers.
While the offense loses a lot, they get back their star quarterback in Tanner Price. He completed 60.0% of his passes for 3,017 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. With Price at center, Wake Forest will always have a chance; unfortunately there just aren't much great pieces around him.
Wake Forest loses their Lead rusher Brandon Pendergrass, but they do bring back junior Josh Harris and sophomore Orville Reynolds. The loss of Pendergrass is huge and it seems as though Reynolds and Harris will share the bulk of the carries.
Another key piece they lose is leading receiver Chris Givens, and his production is irreplaceable. They do have junior WR Michael Campanaro as a fallback, and he figures to be the go-to-guy this season. Senior WR Terrance Davis also returns, but this receiving corps is young and inexperienced aside from these two.
Their offensive line suffered the biggest hit as they lose four starters up front, including first-team All-ACC LG Joe Looney. This unit has just 16 career starts returning and their lone starter coming back is senior C Garrick Williams. This O-line is in such disarray that Grobe had no choice but bring over former D-linemen Frank Souza and Ramon Booi to fill in.
Defense
With the offense looking like it will be down a notch in 2012, the Demon Deacons are counting on their defense to keep them in games this season. Last year, this unit allowed opposing offenses to score 27.5 ppg and rack up nearly 400 yards of offense.. They arguably lose their two best players on this side of the ball, but will have plenty of experience with seven starters coming back.
The Deacons had a very miserable year on the defensive side last season and they need the defensive line to play much better. They have the chance to do just that with two returning starters for their 3-4 scheme. Second-Team All-ACC awardee NG Nikita Whitlock comes back and junior DE Zach Thompson is coming back as well.
The linebacker corps loses second-team All-ACC LB Kyle Wilber to the NFL. However, this unit should be improved considering five of their top six linebackers return. That includes senior OLB Joey Ehrmann, senior WLB Riley Haynes and senior MLB Scott Betros.
The secondary also loses two of its best players in third-team All-American FS Josh Bush and SS Cyhl Quarles. They do bring back sophomore sensation CB Merrill "Bud" Noel, who set a school record with 19 pass break-ups as a freshman last year. The other returning starter in the secondary is senior CB Kenny Okoro.
Head over to Football Free Picks during the regular season and follow the odds for every Wake Forest game, plus get expert advice on who to take against the spread.
ACC Atlantic Division Prediction - 6th Place
Unfortunately for the Deacons, they lose many of their best players to be able to contend for an Atlantic Division title again. With all their key losses in RB Pendergrass, WR Givens, SS Quarles, LB Wilbers and FS Bush, they just don't have what it takes to be competitive despite having QB Tanner Price and other solid players returning. Their offensive line is extremely inexperienced with three underclassmen starting up front. Price could very well regress in 2012 simply because he won't have time to deliver the ball. The Deacons only have Duke and Boston College as winnable conference games, other than that, this team has very little chance of getting more conference wins.
About the Author:
Jack Jones will be posting his college football picks at Betfirms this season. Be sure to visit our site today for a more detailed Wake Forest football preview.