2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
Military Bowl champion
Military Bowl, W 34–26 vs. Temple
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionAtlantic Division
Record7–6 (3–5 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorWarren Ruggiero (3rd season)
Offensive schemeSlow mesh
Defensive coordinatorMike Elko (3rd season)
Base defense4–2–5
Captains
  • Marquel Lee
  • Wendell Dunn
  • Josh Harris
  • Tyler Hayworth
  • Cam Serigne
Home stadiumBB&T Field
2016 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson xy$#  7 1   14 1  
No. 21 Louisville x  7 1   9 4  
No. 8 Florida State  5 3   10 3  
NC State  3 5   7 6  
Wake Forest  3 5   7 6  
Boston College  2 6   7 6  
Syracuse  2 6   4 8  
Coastal Division
No. 16 Virginia Tech xy  6 2   10 4  
North Carolina  5 3   8 5  
No. 20 Miami (FL)  5 3   9 4  
Pittsburgh  5 3   8 5  
Georgia Tech  4 4   9 4  
Duke  1 7   4 8  
Virginia  1 7   2 10  
Championship: Clemson 42, Virginia Tech 35
  • # College Football Playoff champion
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dave Clawson, who was in his third season at the school, and played its home games at BB&T Field. Wake Forest competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference, as they have since the league's inception in 1953. They finished the season 7–6, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they defeated Temple.

When Wake Forest lost to Louisville on November 12, Dave Clawson alleged that Louisville had received impermissible information that benefited the Cardinals on the football field. On December 14, 2016, after a month long probe, former Wake Forest staff member and IMG College radio analyst Tommy Elrod was dismissed from the program for leaking confidential and proprietary game preparations on multiple occasions.