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Wake Forest Investigating How Plays Ended Up In Louisville’s Possession
Wake Forest is investigating how game plan materials came into the hands of Louisville before last Saturday's game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
November 17, 2016
Wake Forest is investigating how game plan materials came into the hands of Louisville before last Saturday’s game at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Wake Forest is investigating how documents that contained information in relation to its game plan ended up in Louisville’s possession before last Saturday’s game against the Cardinals at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
According to Dan Wolken of USA TODAY Sports, Demon Deacon football staff members discovered materials left behind by Louisville that revealed the Cardinals were prepared for plays the Demon Deacons had not run before, which raised suspicions of a security breach.
Head coach Dave Clawson acknowledged on Wednesday that the school was investigating whether data might have been leaked to Louisville or stolen, but he would not elaborate on the nature of the inquiry during Wednesday’s weekly ACC coaches teleconference.
Louisville won the game 44-12 after being down 12-0.
“There was somehow a breach,” Clawson said. “I’ve shared it with [Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman], and we’re trying to find out what happened and how it happened.”
While visiting teams commonly leave behind materials from game prep in the locker room, on the sideline or in a coaching box, it would be considered a competitive advantage if Louisville had materials that showed plays the Demon Deacons had employed in practice but not in games.
According to Dan Collins of the Winston-Salem Journal, Wellman said Clawson told him of the possible breach on Friday, the day before the Deacons lost to the Cardinals. Wellman said a member of Wake Forest’s traveling party found the documents at the stadium.
Clawson was not in the mood to discuss the issue further on Wednesday during the ACC coaches teleconference.
“We’re trying to figure out how information got out of our office and our place, and that’s where we are with it now,” he said. “Again, we’re trying to figure out how a breach happened, and we’re doing everything we can internally to make sure that all of our information that pertains to us stays in-house.”
Wake Forest is 6-4 overall and 3-3 in ACC play, qualifying for a bowl game for the first time under Clawson. Meanwhile, Louisville is now ranked No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings.
