Wake Forest Demon Deacons Online Sportsbook Wagering

Enough of the Wake Forest as an underdog stories. Enough of the little engine that could attitude. After three years, head coach Jim Grobe and his staff have put together the most talented Wake Forest team in years with more athleticism and more depth than ever. So how will that translate into the new world of the ACC?

No, the Demon Deacons aren't going to win the ACC title and will struggle against the elite teams, but there's no one in the league that can take this program lightly. There's enough speed and enough good football players to trade punches with just about anyone, while some top teams would love to have a receiving corps and a group of running backs like Wake has.

The key will be consistency as wins over NC State and Boston College were offset by an inexplicable loss to North Carolina and shocking meltdown against Connecticut. The defense still has to prove it can stop an offense with a pulse and the offense needs to operate without the offensive line it had last year. Even so, there's no reason to expect anything less than a good season with a few upsets sprinkled along the way. The program has become that strong.

The Schedule: A strange schedule, the Demon Deacons play in streaks starting off with two interesting road games at Clemson and East Carolina. October is nice with four league games broken up by a week off in the middle. They'd better have six wins before the final two games going on the road to face Miami and Maryland.

Best Offensive Player: Junior RB Chris Barclay. There wasn't a hotter running back in the ACC over the second half of last year as Barclay ripped through the league finishing off with a 243-yard, three touchdown performance against Maryland. He comes into this season as one of the best unknown rushing stars in America.

Best Defensive Player: Senior CB Eric King. The first-team All-ACC performer became a fantastic all-around corner making 59 tackles and three interceptions to go along with 15 broken up passes. He's a rock in the secondary locking down on every opposing team's number one receiver.

Key player to a successful season: The offensive line loses some top players including Tyson Clabo and Mike Moroz. The cupboard isn't totally bare, but some new stars need to emerge. Most closely watched will be 302-pound junior Wesley Bryant. There's no developed tackle depth whatsoever, so it'll be up to Bryant to step up early to help out Steve Vallos on the other side.

The season will be a success if ... Wake Forest wins seven games and gets to a bowl. It's not going to be easy, but it's time for the Demon Deacons to demand wins over the good teams in the ACC like a NC State or Virginia would. It's not going to be easy.

Key game: Oct. 9 vs. Virginia Tech. With Florida State, at Miami and at Maryland still to go over the second half of the season, this battle against the Hokies should be a make-or-break game for a bowl and to show just how far the program has come.

2003 Fun Stats:
- Fourth quarter scoring: Opponents 104 - Wake Forest 61
- Third down conversion percentage: Opponents 50% - Wake Forest 42%
- Passing yards per game: Opponents 279.8 - Wake Forest 151.5


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Wake Forest Demon Deacons Online Sportsbook Wagering
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