Can Wake Forest Pull Off the Upset? Our Staff Makes Their Predictions
In this story:
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-2, 1-2 ACC) return to the gridiron after their second bye week of the season. The most grueling part of the Deacs' schedule lies ahead in the next few weeks. First up are the SMU Mustangs (5-2, 3-0 ACC) with a high-noon matchup on Saturday.
Wake Forest enters the matchup with some momentum after beating Virginia Tech earlier this month for its first conference win and then dominating Oregon State two weeks ago.
Our staff is evenly split on their thoughts about the game with SMU. Exactly half of our team (6) has picked SMU, while the other half (6) picked the Deacs.
Before the Oregon State game, all of us except Andrew picked Wake to win. Sean came the closest with his prediction of Wake 34 - Oregon State 17 (actual score was 39-14). It marked Sean's second-straight week of coming the closest with his score prediction. Blake was right behind Sean with a prediction of Wake 31-16.
This week, we predict a close game. The average point differential is just one touchdown—seven points. We also predict a relatively low-scoring game, as our average total points is just under 55.
Sean and JD are the only two on our staff who are a perfect 6-0 with their picks for the season. Six are in the 5-1 group, with Brett having a slight edge there.
Staff Leaderboard after Week Eight
Place | Name | Wins | Losses | Closest | Cumulative Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sean | 6 | 0 | 2 | 97 |
2 | JD | 6 | 0 | 0 | 108 |
3 | Brett | 5 | 1 | 2 | 92 |
4 | Carson | 5 | 1 | 2 | 99 |
5 | Blake | 5 | 1 | 1 | 81 |
6 | Barry | 5 | 1 | 1 | 112 |
7 | Ryder | 5 | 1 | 0 | 117 |
8 | Keylor | 5 | 1 | 0 | 140 |
9 | Andrew | 4 | 2 | 0 | 122 |
10 | Justin* | 3 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
11 | Evan* | 3 | 1 | 0 | 76 |
12 | Ian* | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
* Writers who joined the staff after Week One
Staff Predictions - Wake Forest vs. SMU
Andrew Bauhs (4-2) - SMU 34-30
Barry Lewis (5-1; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 31-28
Blake Robison (5-1; one closest prediction) - SMU 30-27
Brett Gibbons (5-1; two closest predictions) - SMU 38-24
Carson Wersal (5-1; two closest predictions) - SMU 24-13
Evan Harris* (3-1) - Wake Forest 31-28
Ian Napetian* (1-0), Wake Forest 31-24
JD Andress (6-0) - SMU 31-23
Justin Kontul* (3-0) - Wake Forest 34-28
Keylor Piers (5-1) - Wake Forest 24-20
Ryder Solberg (5-1) - Wake Forest 24-21
Sean Kennedy (6-0; two closest predictions) -SMU 31-21
*Evan. Ian, and Justin joined our team after the season began.
Do you agree with our picks? Let us know what you think the final score will be.
What's Next?
The game will kick off at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 25. It will be played at Allegacy Stadium in Winston-Salem, and can be seen on the CW.
Recommended Articles
Barry is the managing editor/publisher of both the TCU Horned Frogs On SI and Wake Forest Demon Deacons On SI sites. He oversees a team of 15+ writers, photographers, and podcasters covering all sports at both schools. He writes on football, basketball (men’s and women’s), baseball, men’s tennis, and other sports as needed. His weekly articles include ACC Power Rankings and Poll Watching during the football, basketball, and baseball seasons. Barry is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He has covered the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, the 2023 College Football National Championship, the 2023 College World Series, the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis National Championship, Big 12 Football Media Days, and Big 12 Basketball Media Days. He is an avid sports fan and traveler, and he loves any opportunity to see a sporting event in person. He has been to 18 of the 30 MLB ballparks, experienced game day at 25 college football stadiums, seen 21 NFL stadiums, and been to 16 bowl games.