Wake Forest will play football Christmas Day.

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Few, if any, at the small, private school in Winston-Salem, N.C., will complain. The Demon Deacons are thrilled to get another opportunity to play together before 26 seniors say goodbye. There have been too many holidays spent at home to suit these football players and coaches. They're pumped to get in on the party and have football fans around the country watch the Deacons in a bowl game for a change.

"We're very excited," coach Jim Caldwell said. "When you're practicing this time of year, there's usually something good going on. It's a great benefit for us to get a few more practices under our belt."

Getting to a bowl game was key for the Deacons because it meant that Wake Forest had finally secured a winning record under Caldwell after six unsuccessful attempts.

"We moved forward," Caldwell said. "It is certainly a sign of our program moving forward. In terms of this ball game, there is a big difference between 6-5 and 7-5.

"It gives us another opportunity to get another win against a real good football team. They're a good, tough football team. It's going to be a great game. It is important for us to win. I love the location of the game. It's a neutral site, and they don't really have an advantage, although they're two time zones closer."

All-ACC linebacker Dustin Lyman, a 6-foot-4 senior, said that he wants to add to the legacy of being the first Wake Forest bowl team since Bill Dooley took the Deacons to the Independence Bowl in 1992.

"There's no way we'll get in the Top 25 going 6-6 and losing a bowl game," Lyman said. "But there's a slight chance at 7-5 that we could sneak in there, and I think that would certainly be an accomplishment.

"Right now we're focusing on winning the game and not really on the implications. We haven't really talked about it. But it would be silly to think it's not in people's minds."

The Personnel File

STARTERS TO REPLACE: Eighteen. It's a good thing these Deacons got to a bowl game. It's a senior-loaded group, which will essentially have to be rebuilt next season.

• OFFENSE: Eight. QB Ben Sankey, RB Morgan Kane, WR Jammie Deese, WR Marvin Chalmers, RT Todd Hollowell, RG Sam Setter, LG Brian Wolverton, TE James Lik. Losing these guys will be an enormous blow … they're virtually the entire offense. This school has not proven it can follow success with more success. Losing Kane, Deese and Sankey and a chunk of the offensive line will not make it any easier.
• DEFENSE: Nine. DT Fred Robbins, DT Kelvin Shackleford, DE Brad Smith, LB Dustin Lyman, LB Kelvin Moses, LB Abdul Guice, CB Reggie Austin, SS David Moore, FS DaLawn Parrish. Wake Forest has rarely played with a defensive tackle the caliber of Fred Robbins. The man is a human plug on the line of scrimmage.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: One: Kicker Matthew Burdick. Scored the most points (75) for a kicker in school history this season.

RUSHING AHEAD: The Deacs' improvement running the football was the second-most single-season improvement in rushing offense ever by an ACC team. Wake's jump from a 65.4 yards-per-game rushing last year to a 175.7 average this year is progress of 110.3 yards. The ACC record for the biggest single-season turnaround is held by North Carolina, which improved its running game by 117.5 yards per game from 1985 to 1986 (135.0 to 252.5).

COACH UPDATE: Jim Caldwell might be able to all but assure himself of seven more years if his Deacons can defeat Arizona State. The promise of another day will appear so much more real with a victory. Caldwell's record is 23-54.

MUSTS: This team cannot fall behind. Arizona State scored 42 points against Arizona to earn this bid, although the Sun Devils will be without their top quarterback, Ryan Kealy, who sustained a knee injury in that game. If ASU gets ahead early, the Deacons figure to have trouble catching up with their conservative attack.

Noteworthy

ALL-CONFERENCE: Four Wake Forest players were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference football teams, as voted on by the media. It marks the most all-conference honorees for the Demon Deacons since 1993. … Senior linebacker Dustin Lyman earned first-team All-ACC honors, becoming the school's first first-team pick since Tucker Grace in 1995. … In addition, junior defensive end Bryan Ray, senior defensive tackle Fred Robbins, and senior running back Morgan Kane earned second-team honors.

INJURY REPORT: Junior OT Marlon Curtis (shoulder) is out. … Junior WR Chris Modelski (knee-torn ACL) is out. … Sophomore DE Milo McGuire (knee-torn ACL) is out. … Senior RB Kito Gary (broken arm) is doubtful.

PRIORS: Wake Forest is 2-2 in its four previous bowl appearances, defeating South Carolina in the 1946 Gator Bowl, losing to Baylor in the 1949 Dixie Bowl, losing to LSU in the 1979 Tangerine Bowl and defeating Oregon in the 1992 Independence Bowl.

FIRST TIME: The game will mark the first meeting between Wake Forest and Arizona State.