The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have become a contender in the ACC over the last two years. Since 2021, under Dave Clawson’s leadership, the Demon Deacons have won 19 games, and he has them on a seven-season streak with winning records. If Wake Forest is going to content this season, quarterback Mitch Griffis will have to develop into an elite signal-caller in his first season as the starter. Also, the defense, which permitted 28.3 points per game last year, will have to do better. Let’s break Wake Forest down on both sides of the ball as you look at NCAA Football betting opportunities for the coming year.
NCAA Betting News: Wake Forest 2023 Season Analysis
Breaking down the offense
Mitch Griffis actually started the 2022 season leading the Wake Forest offense. He threw for 288 yards and three scores in a win over VMI, but then Sam Hartman returned for Week 2 and finished the regular season at the helm of the offense. Hartman transferred to Notre Dame, and now Griffis enters his fourth season on campus as the starter. He is undersized for a Division I quarterback (5’11”, 192 pounds), but he is mobile, and he can throw accurately. Combined with his competitiveness, these traits have earned him the trust of Clawson and offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero.
If you look at the offensive depth chart, most of the contributors have played at least three seasons for Wake Forest, although some people have moved around. Michael Jurgens returns for his sixth year of eligibility, but instead of playing center, he has moved to guard. Tailback Justice Ellison has carried the ball 307 times in his career, but none of the other tailbacks have 15, which means that there is plenty of opportunity. Donovan Greene and Jahmal Banks combined for 1,276 receiving yards and 15 scores last year, and they will need to give Griffis the deep-ball targets he will need to make big plays.
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Looking at the defense
In 2021, Wake Forest’s defense pried 29 turnovers away; in 2022, though, that number dropped to 16. At one point last season, the Demon Deacons went four straight games without generating a single turnover. The best way to get takeaways, of course, is to get pressure on the quarterback. Jasheen Davis is a defensive end entering his fourth season; he started part-time last year and notched seven sacks. He will need other disruptors up front, though, so that he won’t see double- and triple-teams on every passing down.
The Wake Forest defense has depth at safety and linebacker. Caelen Carlson is the best cornerback, entering his fourth season as a starter, but he has missed some games the last two years. There are no other cornerbacks on the team who have more than one collegiate start on their resume. So if the defense is going to improve, it will come from new players excelling in Clawson’s system.
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Analyzing the special teams
Matthew Dennis made 12 of his 14 field-goal attempts last year, but only two of those attempts came from more than 40 yards. Punter Ivan Mora has started for three seasons and has delivered reliably. Mora also handles kickoffs, and he needs to improve on the touchback percentage (17.2%) he delivered last season, a number that was third-worst among FBS programs. Freshman Tyler Black could move into the kickoff slot if Mora still strug gles in this area.
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What will the season look like?
The season opens softly for the Demon Deacons: home games against FCS opponent Elon and SEC bottom-dweller Vanderbilt. After that comes a visit to Old Dominion and then the ACC opener, at home against Georgia Tech. After the bye week, though, the gauntlet begins: at Clemson, at Virginia Tech, at home against Pitt and Florida State. After that come trips to Duke and Notre Dame sandwiched around a home date against N.C. State. By the time the regular season ends at Syracuse, this could be a really difficult season – or it could be a year in which the team overcame a lot of adversity. A 7-5 or 8-4 season looks like the best outcome – at least at this point.
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