Wake Forest pulled weak move before loss to Ole Miss

Sep 9, 2023; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest helmet during the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Wake Forest was dominated by Ole Miss on Saturday, and the Demon Deacons have no interest in trying to exact revenge a year from now.

Ole Miss beat Wake Forest 40-6 on Saturday at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game was supposed to be the first leg of a home-and-home series between the two teams. After his team’s win, Lane Kiffin revealed that Wake Forest backed out of next year’s game during the week leading up to Saturday. Kiffin tried to use that as motivation for Ole Miss players.

“We came motivated, good energy early on. We talked to them during the week about how this is the last time they get to play these guys,” Kiffin said. “These guys during the week called over and (Wake Forest AD) John Currie said ‘we’re not playing next year’ and bought out of the game. So, I thought that was a good message for our players that somebody was willing to pay money not to play them. That says a lot of where our program is right now.”

On Sunday, Brett McMurphy of Action Network reported that Wake Forest paid $1 million to buy out of the second game of the home-and-home series.

The arrangement probably still worked out fine for Wake Forest. They got to host a top-five team, so the $1 million buyout was likely worthwhile. In term’s of public perception, however, that is a pretty weak look. It might also present a challenge down the road for Wake Forest when they are trying to negotiate other home-and-home deals.

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