Bowl Game Chances at Stake in Deacs' Face-Off with Mustangs
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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4–2, 1–2 ACC) have revived the fun of football over their last two games. Their two losses are still as grueling as ever, but hope is all around as prime football weather begins to creep in. Nonetheless, Saturday's matchup between the Demon Deacons and Mustangs has doozy written all over it.
No Robby Ashford, No Problem
Murmurs about Deshawn Purdie's viability have floated around all season, but all fell silent after his standout fill-in performance against the Oregon State Beavers. The sophomore went 14/27 for 270 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 51.8% completion rate is far from desirable, but all is forgiven following Wake's 39–14 win—victories tend to do that.
Besides Eni Falayi not being involved against the Beavers, the pieces seemed to click: Demond Claiborne and Chris Barnes both shined, and Micah Mays Jr. also stepped up and produced (2 REC, 69 YDS, 1 TD).
Defensively speaking, the Demon Deacons continued to excel; the Nick Andersen-led squad posted a shutout going into the fourth quarter. Also, to complement the offense's turnover-free day, the defense forced two of their own.
Blake's Take: All this recap is meant to convey my point that this Wake Forest team is good. Their two losses stem from a second-half meltdown against NC State and an instance of Murphy's Law taking over against the now-seventh-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The growth of this team is incredible, and they now have themselves positioned as a legit players in the ACC with bowl-game potential. Of course, the road ahead is not freshly paved, but the Deacs should be competitive all the way to the end of their season—whenever that may be.
We Must Remember Who the Mustangs Are
SMU joined the ACC last year. In that time, they are undefeated in conference play and claimed a spot in last year's inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. They had considerable roster turnover coming into the season—perhaps evident by their 2–2 start—but they are now course-corrected and playing their best ball.
Redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Jennings broke out onto the scene last season and is only improving his numbers in 2025. Last year's stage in the Playoff was too bright for Jennings, but that letdown led to his poised play against the Clemson Tigers last weekend—SMU won 35–24.
Jake Dickert made sure to emphasize the urgency needed when addressing the SMU defensive line. He said they wrecked the Clemson offense last week, under the lead of breakout end Cameron Robertson. Clemson's Cade Klubnik was sacked 4 times, and their run game was stifled to just 35 yards.
While their resume is not entirely bulletproof— they beat Clemson, Stanford, Syracuse, Missouri State, and East Texas A&M—they have a stud quarterback, a scary defensive line, momentum, and a playoff pedigree.
Blake's Take: Wake Forest played up when they lost in heartbreaking fashion against Georgia Tech. This week, it is a more even and true test. SMU has the leg up at quarterback, and arguably so with their disposal of weapons, but Wake Forest has cornerstones like Demond Claiborne, Nick Andersen, and their other veteran leaders, which set them apart from many other schools in the college football landscape. My prediction will come later in the week, but again, this contest should be fun and potentially high-scoring.
SMU reaches bowl eligibility with a win on Saturday, but Wake Forest positions themselves nicely for the same if they knock off the Mustangs. Expectations are growing in Deactown, and we will soon see how Robby Ashford and the Demon Deacons respond.
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Blake is a Sophomore at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. When not living on campus, he resides in West Virginia, where he was born and raised. He is studying communication and is invested in all things related to sports media. In his Freshman year, he completed an internship with the National Sports Media Association, and also worked as a sports editor at Wake Forest's student-run newspaper, the Old Gold & Black. Currently, Blake does play-by-play broadcasting for Wake Forest Club Ice Hockey and holds a job at Learfield, working as a studio host. In a perfect world, he would spend his free time road tripping and attending concerts all across the United States.
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