Wakeforest22890
Snowpom
Wake's football season is over so obviously it's time to look ahead to next year and make wild projections/predictions based on the schedule and general roster knowledge we have (which is more tumultuous than ever with the transfer portal in full swing).
2023 Opponents:
Elon
Vanderbilt
@ Old Dominion
@ Notre Dame
@ Clemson
@ Syracuse
@ Duke
@ Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
Pittsburgh
Florida State
NC State
General Expectations Odds Wise (barring major unforeseen issues)
Wake should be favored: Elon, Vanderbilt, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech
Just starting with the two weakest teams on the schedule, Elon and Old Dominion, Wake will be heavy favorites in these games even including the road game. Similarly, even if Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech improve by 3-7 points on this year while Wake regresses a few points, the Deacs should still be favored. Georgia Tech and Vandy improved as the season went along but they were pretty far down in the basement to start with. Virginia Tech is working in a new system, but they were not good at all this year at any point. They have a decent ways to go.
Wake should be an underdog: Notre Dame, Clemson, Florida State
ND is likely adding Hartman while Clemson seems to be set at QB with Cade. Both will be top 25 teams. Similarly, FSU came on very strong at the end of the season and looks to be a preseason top 20-25 team with a little bit of swagger back. Clemson and ND on the road makes these very tough asks overall and I think FSU would be around a 6 point favorite (maybe more depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out) or so even with the game in Winston
Tossups: Duke, NC State, Pitt, Syracuse
These are either games where there are a ton of unknowns overall (State QB situation, will Syracuse continue their regression, what does season two with Elko look like for Duke) or just games that should project as a tight matchup based on the 2022 season. Wake gets a couple of these at home and I'd expect that the line on these games if set today would be between 3.5 points either way. Holding serve against State and Pitt at home would be a solid baseline here, as would snagging one of the road games at Cuse or Duke.
Breaking this down, I'd say that this places Wake around 6.5-7 wins for Vegas preseason (probably 6.5 given the questions Wake will have re: defense - which was consistently a bottom 10-15 unit in pass defense all year - and how we set up with a new QB at the helm). Realistically, this is probably a bit of a rebuilding season, but one where the Deacs' schedule sets up somewhat nicely to continue the bowl streak if we take care of business.
With lots of unknowns, plenty of this could change, but what does everyone foresee for next year with the 2023 schedule?
2023 Opponents:
Elon
Vanderbilt
@ Old Dominion
@ Notre Dame
@ Clemson
@ Syracuse
@ Duke
@ Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
Pittsburgh
Florida State
NC State
General Expectations Odds Wise (barring major unforeseen issues)
Wake should be favored: Elon, Vanderbilt, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech
Just starting with the two weakest teams on the schedule, Elon and Old Dominion, Wake will be heavy favorites in these games even including the road game. Similarly, even if Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech improve by 3-7 points on this year while Wake regresses a few points, the Deacs should still be favored. Georgia Tech and Vandy improved as the season went along but they were pretty far down in the basement to start with. Virginia Tech is working in a new system, but they were not good at all this year at any point. They have a decent ways to go.
Wake should be an underdog: Notre Dame, Clemson, Florida State
ND is likely adding Hartman while Clemson seems to be set at QB with Cade. Both will be top 25 teams. Similarly, FSU came on very strong at the end of the season and looks to be a preseason top 20-25 team with a little bit of swagger back. Clemson and ND on the road makes these very tough asks overall and I think FSU would be around a 6 point favorite (maybe more depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out) or so even with the game in Winston
Tossups: Duke, NC State, Pitt, Syracuse
These are either games where there are a ton of unknowns overall (State QB situation, will Syracuse continue their regression, what does season two with Elko look like for Duke) or just games that should project as a tight matchup based on the 2022 season. Wake gets a couple of these at home and I'd expect that the line on these games if set today would be between 3.5 points either way. Holding serve against State and Pitt at home would be a solid baseline here, as would snagging one of the road games at Cuse or Duke.
Breaking this down, I'd say that this places Wake around 6.5-7 wins for Vegas preseason (probably 6.5 given the questions Wake will have re: defense - which was consistently a bottom 10-15 unit in pass defense all year - and how we set up with a new QB at the helm). Realistically, this is probably a bit of a rebuilding season, but one where the Deacs' schedule sets up somewhat nicely to continue the bowl streak if we take care of business.
With lots of unknowns, plenty of this could change, but what does everyone foresee for next year with the 2023 schedule?