Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Record: 4-2
Date of game: 12/5/20
They are number one on this list for a reason, folks. The Demon Deacons have won their last four games and are rolling into Chapel Hill this weekend for a showdown with in-state rival North Carolina. We will learn more about what Wake Forest is about then as North Carolina has a decently comparable offense to the Cardinals.
Dave Clawson is in his seventh season as the Wake Forest head coach and once again, Clawson is overachieving in the conference despite his difficult recruiting situation. That’s why he has been at Wake Forest so long. He just fits and makes it work there despite difficult recruiting circumstances against the likes of NC State, North Carolina, Clemson, and South Carolina.
The Deacs have found themselves a running back to work with in sophomore Kenneth Walker III. He may not be the fastest guy to touch turf, but he has a ton of patience, contact balance, and short area burst to make him a big time threat.
Walker has 11 touchdowns to go along with his 528 yards rushing this year.
The Deacs only have five passing touchdowns the entire season. They have become a team heavily reliant on the run after star Sage Surratt decided to opt out prior to the season to prepare for the NFL Draft.
One of the best stories in the conference has to be defensive back Nick Andersen, a walk on freshman defensive back who has amassed 38 tackles and had three interceptions in one game against Virginia Tech tying the record for the most in an ACC game since Gerod Holliman did so for Louisville.
However, Wake Forest’s best overall player is Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr. Basham is an edge defender who has amassed five sacks this year. He’s a future high NFL Draft selection and he is certainly playing like it this year.
This will be a tough game for Louisville. The offensive tackles, who have been so-so this year, will have their hands full with Basham. The Demon Deacons have totaled 14 takeaways this season while the quarterbacks for Wake Forest have thrown zero interceptions.
Wake Forest has won the turnover battle all year while Louisville has lost it. I would lean to take Wake Forest in this game. But, Louisville will certainly have a fair shot. This is not Clemson or even a team like Miami who the Cards played earlier this year.
Overall, giving the Cardinals at least a fighting chance in every game to end this year seems fair. The Cardinals have an equally (or more) talented roster as anyone remaining on the schedule. The Cards will have a fair shot of going undefeated to end the year.