Kickoff for the 2025 football season is one day away, so it’s time to predict how the Deacs will fare in the first game of the Jake Dickert era.
Wake Forest vs Kennesaw State
Odds (via FanDuel)
- Spread: Wake -17.5
- Moneyline: Wake -900
- Over/Under: 51.5
Record: 0-0, 0-0 ATS
This one should be pretty straightforward and there’s really no need to overanalyze it. The Owls finished last season 2-10, and Wake Forest will be the first Power 4 team they have played as an FBS team. In the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, which measures a team’s overall recruiting talent, Wake Forest ranks 74th in the nation
while Kennesaw State sits at 132nd–the Deacs should simply be more talented at every position than the Owls. Football isn’t played on paper and being more talented doesn’t always guarantee a win, but by that metric, the difference in talent between Wake and Kennesaw is about the same as the difference between Wake and LSU or Clemson. Do with that information what you will.
We haven’t seen either team or coaching staff in a game yet this season, but the talent disparity between these two teams is big enough that Wake should be able to win comfortably. While Wake’s QB situation may put them towards the bottom of the ACC at the position, Robby Ashford has still started and played games in the SEC–Kennesaw State starter Dexter Williams II has never started a game and only threw 30 passes at Georgia Southern last year. Demond Claiborne will be the best player on either side of the field and could possibly be the best running back Kennesaw State has played in their short FBS tenure. I’m not really worried that the Deacs will be able to move the ball and score points, even if that just means handing it to Claiborne 30 times or throwing bubble screens the whole game. My focus will be on whether or not the defense is capable of getting some stops. I know Wake has an entirely new coaching staff, but until I see actual improvement on defense with my own eyes, I am just going to continue assuming that they will be about as good as they were last season.
I’ll take Wake to win 38-17. The Deacs start off slow as they shake off some rust and then run the score up a little in the second half.
