Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2016 NCAA Football Preview

Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2016 NCAA Football Preview

WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS

Atlantic Coast Conference – Atlantic Division

 

2015 Record – 3-9

ATS – 6-6

 

2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating

Atlantic Division #6

Conference #13

 

2015 Recap

It was another tough season for HC Dave Clawson and the Demon Deacons. They won two of their first three games against Army and FCS foe Elon, but subsequent to those wins, were only able to taste victory one more time in an EPIC battle for the ages vs Boston College. Final score – 3-0. It was a great case study in what happens when you have a really young team and an offensive line that cannot block anybody. Things are looking up this season as the experience gained by the young players starts to pay dividends.

 

2016 Preview

OFFENSE

Wake Forest has ranked 12th and 14th in the ACC in total offense the past two seasons. The offensive line was young and consistently overmatched. This season they return four starters to the line that has some size to go with experience. After giving up a mind-boggling 48 sacks last season (ranked 122nd in FBS sacks allowed per game) and averaging only 105 yards rushing per contest – the Demon Deacons should show significant improvement in 2016.

There appears to be two options for the starting QB role. MEGALOCKS WAKE FOREST INSIDERS note that both John Wolford and Kendall Hinton are still in position to win the job. They both had significant playing time in 2015 and will improve with better offensive line play. Wake Forest has a lot of young talent in the backfield and at WR so if the pass protection is at least average there should be decent passing numbers. The QB also gets the benefit of a fine target in TE Cam Serigne who had 100 catches and 9 TDs in his first two seasons. Overall, we see a lot of potential for improvement in the offense but need to see the offensive line perform a lot better before feeling confident.

DEFENSE

The unit was ranked a respectable 7th in total defense in the ACC last season. The Demon Deacons lose leading tackler and 1st Team ACC performer LB Brandon Chubb and recently learned that Zeek Rodney (300 pound starting DT) will miss the season. That knocks the returning starter tally down to six. The defense should still be pretty good against the run and CB Brad Watson led the ACC in passes defended in 2015. A primary concern is putting pressure on opposing QBs. They have not tallied more than 28 sacks in the past five seasons. Overall, we see a group that will play hard but probably not improve much from a statistical standpoint.

SPECIAL TEAMS

This could be a problem area. The return game was hideous last season and needs someone to step up. They will feature a freshman punter in 2016 and a PK that was only 1/6 from 40+ yards last season. This unit must surprise to the upside if they plan on making a bowl game this season.

 

MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10)          7.0

MEGALOCKS says:

There is definite improvement brewing in Winston-Salem. The roster has a lot more experience and the schedule should help them get off to a good start. There are also three very winnable games at the back end of the docket which makes us cautiously optimistic that they are capable of hitting the magical 6-win plateau for bowl eligibility.

Overall, we give the DEMON DEACONS a 7.0 ATS Value Rating (Good) this season. Wake has taken some lumps in Dave Clawson’s first two seasons but it just might be time that the Demon Deacons start cashing in some chips. It hinges a great deal on the offensive line actually “blocking” in the run game and preventing their QBs from getting “pulverized”. Wake is 12-12 ATS the past two seasons despite having no offense to speak of and finishing a combined (-15) in turnover margin. Wake Forest promises to be a decent play in most games in 2016.

 

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News

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http://bleacherreport.com/wake-forest-football

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