Wake Forest is ready for two years worth of growing pains to start paying off.The Demon Deacons begin Dave Clawsons third season Thursday night when they play host to a Tulane team debuting under new coach Willie Fritz.Wake Forest has finished 3-9 twice as part of Clawsons patient rebuild of the program, and last years Demon Deacons were one of the nations youngest teams.Now theyre a year older, with nine offensive starters returning, and theyre ready for the progress they made to show up in their record.This is the most talented group up front that weve had. This is the most cohesive group up front that weve had since I have been here, offensive lineman Tyler Hayworth said. We are a unit that has to work together and trust each other to be able to succeed. From last year to this year, we have built up that trust and built up these relationships with each other to where we are ready to play and we are prepared mentally and physically.John Wolford will start at quarterback for the Demon Deacons, but Kendall Hinton also will play. Wolford has started 22 of the 23 games hes played at the school, throwing for 1,791 yards last season while completing 61 percent of his passes with 11 interceptions and nine touchdowns. Hinton made two starts as a freshman in 2015 and rushed for seven touchdowns with four TD throws and five interceptions.Fritz is taking over a Tulane team that -- like Wake Forest -- is coming off consecutive 3-9 seasons, the latter of which cost fourth-year coach Curtis Johnson his job. His Georgia Southern teams led the Bowl Subdivision in rushing in both of his seasons there, and he led the Eagles to a Sun Belt title in his first season and a bowl game to end Year 2.The main thing I really want to see is incredible effort, Fritz said. We talk around here about, `The Wave dont beat the Wave. Lets stay away from those pre-snap penalties ... and just play a clean game.---Some things to know about the Tulane-Wake Forest opener:- RUNNING WAVE: The Green Wave figure to cycle in four running backs as part of a run-heavy system, with Dontrell Hilliard, Sherman Badie, Josh Rounds and Lazedrick Thompson getting most of the work. Theyll look to replicate what Fritzs Georgia Southern team did last year, averaging 363 yards per game and nearly 6.5 yards per carry. Tulane ranked 119th last year in the FBS in rushing, averaging just 115.8 yards.- DEMON DEACONS D: Wake Forest returns seven starters from their defense, but must replace three members of their front seven, including mainstay LBs Brandon Chubb and Hunter Williams. DL Duke Ejiofor will be important up front, after he recorded a sack in four of the seven games he played last year and had a team-best 4.5 sacks.- RUNNING WAKE: The Demon Deacons have struggled to get their ground game going under Clawson, mainly because of a young offensive line and injuries that mounted at key positions. Wake Forest was 123rd nationally in rushing last year and 127th in 2014. Theyve got more options this year, with freshman Cade Carney earning the start over redshirt freshman Rocky Reid and sophomore Matt Colburn. Freshman Tyler Bell, who rushed for a team-best 451 yards last year, was the first freshman to lead the team in rushing since 1982 but dealt with injuries during camp.- THE SERIES: Tulane has won both previous meetings between the schools with similar profiles -- small, private, academically elite -- but they havent met since 1995.New York Yankees Shirts . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Yogi Berra Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. https://www.cheapyankees.com/1461g-johnny-damon-jersey-yankees.html . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Jorge Posada Yankees Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Elston Howard Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play.SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Brynton Lemar scored 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting to lead UC Davis to a 63-58 win over Santa Clara on Saturday night.In a close game where neither team led by more than single digits, UC Davis (1-1) edged on top for good during a 6-0 spurt midway through the second half that was capped by a pair of free throws from Lemar to make it 49-45 with 7:39 to play. J.T. 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