2015-16 Football Previews – (ACC) – Demon Deacons
Wake Forest football is a tough gig. They do not have a great history to build on, are maybe the fourth option for in state recruits and hardly have the most glamorous facilities.
NCAA Football Gambling Lines
- NCAA Offseason Polls
- ***2015 BONUSES***
- [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
ACC Lines
ACC – Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Head Coach: Dave Clawson
2014 Record: 3-9
Odds to win the ACC: +10000
Win Total: 3.5
Despite all those natural disadvantages former head coach Jim Grobe won a league title and got the program to a BCS bowl – a combination of timing and talent. It might have been his undoing though as suddenly the bar was set pretty high.
Current coach Dave Clawson has no hope of reaching those kinds of heights this year. Or any year quite frankly.
Last year the Demon Deacons won three games and if they can do that again it will mean that a lot of the young players who got a shot last year continued to develop.
[dfads params=’groups=63738&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
The schedule is tough (for them) and other teams are trying to get better too, right.
The real measure of Clawson and the program will come next season when the freshman of last year are seasoned upperclassmen. Per the above this is the kind of program that might, might breakthrough once a recruiting cycle. Anymore than that is unrealistic.
Strengths
Can having gained experience last season be a strength?
Perhaps not but the greatest hope for Wake Forest this season is that a number of players they are counting on should be better with a season under their belts. On offense Wake is counting on sophomore starters at quarterback, running back and both tight ends.
They showed promise last season and if those players keep developing they will be more competitive, whether they actually win more games or not. On defense they return seven starters so there is a good base to work from. This group has experience too with all but two starters being juniors and seniors.
Hopefully they are fed up with being pushed around.
Weaknesses
It might seem harsh but the real difference for Wake is an overall lack of talent.
[dfads params=’groups=66501&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
They just can’t recruit high level prospects with regularity and it puts a lot of pressure on their coaching staff to develop them over the course of four or five seasons – there can be no misses.
When it all works out they have seasons like they did in 2006 when they played in the Orange Bowl.
When it doesn’t it looks a lot like the last couple of season where they have won a total of seven games. Also, this is still a relatively inexperienced team that is probably a year or two away.
Away from what I am not sure.
Prediction: 2-10
The Demon Deacons have one gimme and then after that I am not sure. I am throwing them another win but in truth I am not sure where it comes from as they have to play the bottom tier of their division on the road with trips to Syracuse and Boston College.
Army is another weak link but that is a road game too and their option attack is tough to prepare for.
Per the paragraphs above the real hope for this team is that its young core can continue to develop together but in the short term they are definitely going to take their lumps against the top tier in their division.
[dfads params=’groups=63739&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
They might do a little better if they were in the other division though drawing Duke and visiting North Carolina are not going to be easy games for them. They just don’t have the talent to compete with the teams in their league right now.
Schedule:
September 3 – Elon
September 12 – @ Syracuse
September 19 – @ Army
September 26 – Indiana
October 3 – Florida State
October 10 – @ Boston College
October 17 – @ North Carolina
October 24 – NC State
October 30 – Louisville
November 14 – @ Notre Dame
November 21 – @ Clemson
November 28 – Duke
Check out our Updated College Football Odds.
And…as always click to view our top cappers COLLEGE FOOTBALL daily plays CLICK HERE!
The 2015 College futures betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on NCAA football, you are in the best possible place for online betting. CappersPicks.com has NCAAF odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find College football lines up for early games as well.
[dfads params=’groups=63706&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
