We are officially 1 week away from kickoff for the season opener against Kennesaw State, and I still really have no idea what to expect from the Deacs this season. It seems like almost everybody in the football world is picking Wake Forest to finish last or second last (ahead of Stanford) in the ACC this season. It’s hard to really fault them for that, because other than maybe the offensive line, it’s hard to point to a position group where the Deacs have more talent than they did last season when
they finished 4-8. Obviously, a new coaching staff changes the calculus, but whether that is for better or for worse is yet to be determined. One thing the Deacs do have going for them this season is a very favorable schedule.
That should make things a little easier on Coach Dickert in his first season. Having not seen this team or this coaching staff play a single game at Wake Forest yet, predicting how the season will go is going to be pretty difficult, but I’ll still give it my best shot.
Betting Odds (via FanDuel)
Win Total: 4.5
Odds to win ACC: +30,000
Odds to make Playoff: +5,000
Odds to win Championship: +100,000
It seems like Vegas is also not particularly high on the Deacs this season. Wake is tied with Stanford with the worst odds to win the conference and has the 2nd lowest win total in the conference, behind—you guessed it—Stanford’s 3.5. With that information, here are my predictions for the 2025 season:
Projected Record: 5-7
ACC Record: 1-7
Realistic Ceiling: 8-4
Realistic Floor: 3-9
Schedule:
- Kennesaw State–W
- Western Carolina–W
- NC State–L
- Georgia Tech—W
- At Virginia Tech–L
- At Oregon State–W
- SMU–L
- At Florida State–L
- At Virginia–L
- UNC–L
- Delaware–W
- At Duke–L
Definite Wins
Kennesaw State, Western Carolina, Delaware
In my mind, these are all pretty similar to FCS games. Kennesaw State is on their second season of FBS football after transitioning last season and fired their coach after going 2-10. Delaware is playing their first season of FBS football this year, and Western Carolina is, of course, an FCS school. These should all be comfortable wins. If the Deacs lose to any of these teams this season, buckle up, because it is going to be a rough year.
Likely Losses
at FSU, SMU, at Virginia Tech, at Duke
FSU likely bounces back this season, and Wake has only won in Tallahassee 3 times since the Noles joined the conference–those wins required the ACC’s leader in passing touchdowns (Hartman) and 2nd most accurate QB all time (Skinner). SMU made the playoffs last season and brought back star QB Kevin Jennings along with a top 20 transfer class by On3 Sports. Virginia Tech is supposed to be better this season, and Blacksburg is always a tough place to play—the Deacs haven’t won there since 1983. Duke won 9 games last season and brought in the #1 player in the transfer portal, according to ESPN, with Tulane’s Darian Mensah, so I expect they will be solid again this year.
Toss Ups
NC State, GT, at Oregon State, at UVA, UNC
As far as I know, NC State doesn’t have super high expectations this season–that is usually when Dave Doeren rips off a 9-win season and saves his job for another year. I expect that will be a tough game. Georgia Tech has one of the best QBs in the conference with Haynes King, but the Yellow Jackets have failed to win more than 7 games with him thus far and they ranked 62nd in On3’s Transfer Portal Index this offseason. Oregon State is probably the most winnable game of this list, but it’s also on the entire other side of the country, so that might have some detrimental effects on the team. Virginia just beat Wake last season, and then they brought in a top 30 transfer class. I would feel a whole lot better about that one if the Deacs were at home instead of on the road. I have no idea what to expect from UNC this year. The Heels will have more talent, but they’ve also been kind of a side show in the offseason–I just don’t know if Belichick is still going to be locked in by mid-November or if he’s already looking ahead to a potential NFL job.
By my math, the Deacs would need to win 3 of the 5 tossups to make a bowl game this season. Oregon State is the most likely win of the bunch—if they can win in Corvalis, they’d just have to grab 2 of NC State, GT, at Virginia and UNC. The good news is that 3 out of those 4 games are at home. The last time Wake Forest went winless in the ACC was 1995, so hopefully they will win at least one of those 4 games.
As a bonus, here are a few player specific predictions:
Offensive MVP: Demond Claiborne
This is pretty obvious–an all-ACC caliber back on a team with question marks at quarterback is a recipe for a big season on the ground. Claiborne will probably get as many touches as he can handle this year, and I am hoping to see him hit at least 1,500 yards rushing this season (125 yards per game).
Defensive MVP: Dylan Hazen
Defensive Coordinator Scottie Hazelton is doubling as the linebackers coach this season. The last time he did that, Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay accounted for 120 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks and led the Big Ten with 10 tackles per game on his way to 2nd Team All-Big Ten honors. Hazen had a great year last season with 84 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 1 sack, but I am hoping that Hazelton can unlock his full potential and push him to that next level.
Offensive Breakout Player: Carlos Hernandez
Even if the Deacs are primarily a rushing team this season, they are still going to have to be able to throw the ball. Hernandez is a versatile player who can line up pretty much anywhere on the field and get open, and he seems to excel in creating yards after the catch. In his sophomore season last year, he caught 31 passes for 397 yards and 5 touchdowns in 8 games. If Wake struggles to throw the ball down the field this season, just getting the ball to Hernandez in space and allowing him to make plays could become a go-to option on passing downs. He also has the benefit of playing for Dickert and wide receiver coach Nick Edwards for the third straight season, so he should be extremely comfortable with what the coaches are looking for.
Breakout player defense: Gabe Kirschke
Some improvements in the secondary will hopefully allow the front four on the defensive line enough time to actually pressure the quarterback on obvious passing downs this season. Kirschke is a fast, athletic edge rusher who had 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks last season as a redshirt sophomore at Colorado State. Perhaps he can become the first Demon Deacon player with 10 sacks in a season since Carlos Basham Jr. did it in 2019.
The staff still hasn’t picked a QB for the Kennesaw State game or released a depth chart, so a lot of this is just guess work. It’s the first year under a new coach, and that typically comes with a fair number of growing pains. Until we see what the offense is going to look like against an actual team or if the defense has improved in any way, it is very difficult to determine how many wins the team will get this season—we probably won’t have a good idea of how good the team is until the NC State game in week 3, barring a disastrous home opener.
How do you think Wake will fare in the first season of the Dickert era?
