FSU football's Tatum Bethune well prepared for Wake Forest's slow mesh offense

The Wake Forest game last season was one of Tatum Bethune's worst, according to Florida State football linebacker.

The Seminoles lost to the Demon Deacons, 31-21, for a third straight year and the result snapped FSU's undefeated record of 4-0. Bethune recorded six tackles, one for a loss of yardage, but had three missed tackles.

As a whole, the defense had 12 missed tackles, half of them coming from Bethune and linebacker DJ Lundy.

The No. 4 Seminoles (7-0, 5-0 ACC) will face Wake Forest (4-3, 1-3) looking to snap a three-game losing streak in the series at noon Saturday at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Broadcast: ABC).

Stopping the slow mesh

The biggest cause of the defense lapse was Wake Forest's "slow mesh" offense. The offensive approach, in which the quarterback takes a long amount of time deciding to pass or rush the ball, boosted the Demon Deacons to the top of the college football world, peaking as high as No. 10 in the AP poll.

"That was my first time seeing it," Bethune said on Wake's slow mesh offense. "I felt like last year was one of the worst games in my career. I know now, coming into this week, what to be prepared for and I know what to expect."

While Wake Forest isn't having a season like it did last year, sitting at 4-3 and 1-3 in the ACC, its slow mesh offense has kept them disciplined.

The Demon Deacons rank as one of the least penalized teams in the country, averaging 3.86 penalties per game and losing less than 250 yards in flags over seven games.

From the defensive perspective, Bethune said that going up against Wake's offense has been so difficult because you can't see the ball.

"They're just walking down with it," Bethune said. "You don't know if it's a run or pass. Whether to hit the gap or not, or play your coverage. It's just kind of difficult and you just got to kind of react to it."

On the road again

Bethune said that he's preparing for Wake's offense through practice reps and film. He hasn't been looking forward to this game specifically but said that he knows he needs to do better when Saturday comes around.

"We've just got a chip on our shoulder each and every game," Bethune said. "Against Wake Forest, I know I've just got to do better than what I did last year. This season is just a statement for all of us.

It's a different team from last season, but Bethune said that if Wake gets hope, they're going to run with it. That's what happened last weekend in the Demon Deacon's win over Pitt.

Up 17-14, with 51 seconds in the game on third and 9, Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux began sliding too early and didn't get enough for the first down. Wake Forest got the ball back and went 48 yards to score and win the game, 21-17.

"If they get hope, they're going to take that and run with it," Bethune said. "We've just got to knock that out."

The game environment will be a little harder to maneuver as well. FSU is on the road for the first time in over a month. The Seminoles have two road games, which they won by an average of only 4.5 points.

Bethune said the team is excited to get back on the road and be challenged once again.

"We're actually excited to hit the road again," Bethune said. "Sometimes you've got to face adversity going on the road. You're not with your crowd and you're not as comfortable as you are in Doak Campbell Stadium. I feel like it's good for our team to stay focused and it's a little life-check for us."

GAME INFORMATION

Who: No. 4 FSU (7-0, 5-0 ACC) at Wake Forest (4-3, 1-3)

When/where: Saturday, noon, Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C.

TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM

Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim, @jackgwilliams and @JimHenryTALLY on X, formerly Twitter

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Wake Forest Slow Mesh offense not getting the best of FSU football's Bethune