Deacs Look To End Season by Giving Duke the Blues - Our Staff Makes Their Picks
In this story:
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-3, 4-3 ACC) play their final game of the regular season when they travel down Tobacco Road to take on Big Four rival Duke on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams are bowl eligible, but both need a win to potentially play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. Duke has had Wake's number, having won the last three matchups.
Our staff, for the most part, thinks that streak will come to an end, as we are almost unanimous in our picks, with all but one of us picking the Deacs to get the win. We do, though, predict it will be a close game. Our average predicted margin of victory is just 4.5 points. We are also predicting a total of just under 50 points (49.5) in the game. That works out to an average prediction of Wake Forest winning 27-23.
Last week, our staff unanimously chose the Deacs to win over the Delaware Blue Hens. Carson and Ryder came the closest. Carson had the Deacs winning 42-14, and Ryder had them winning 45-17. Both missed the actual score - 52-14 - by ten points.
Sean maintains his lead. He and I are the only ones with a 9-2 record, but Sean has two closest predictions compared to my one, giving him the edge on our leaderboard. However, Sean is the only one this week to pick Duke.
Staff Leaderboard after Week Thirteen
Place | Name | Wins | Losses | Closest | Cumulative Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sean | 9 | 2 | 2 | 212 |
2 | Barry | 9 | 2 | 1 | 233 |
3 | Carson | 8 | 3 | 4 | 191 |
4 | Brett | 8 | 3 | 2 | 215 |
5 | Ryder | 8 | 3 | 1 | 198 |
6 | Keylor | 8 | 3 | 1 | 264 |
7 | JD | 8 | 3 | 0 | 233 |
8 | Blake | 7 | 4 | 1 | 214 |
9 | Andrew | 7 | 4 | 1 | 240 |
10 | Justin* | 7 | 1 | 0 | 141 |
11 | Evan* | 6 | 3 | 0 | 204 |
12 | Ian* | 4 | 2 | 0 | 152 |
* Writers who joined the staff after Week One
Staff Predictions - Wake Forest at Duke
Andrew Bauhs (7-4; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 31-29
Barry Lewis (9-2; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 31-24
Blake Robison (7-4; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 27-23
Brett Gibbons (8-3; two closest predictions) - Wake Forest 31-24
Carson Wersal (8-3; four closest predictions) - Wake Forest 27-23
Evan Harris* (6-3) - Wake Forest 24-17
Ian Napetian* (4-2), Wake Forest 27-24
JD Andress (8-3) - Wake Forest 20-17
Justin Kontul* (7-1) - Wake Forest 24-17
Keylor Piers (8-3; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 27-24
Ryder Solberg (8-3; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 28-24
Sean Kennedy (9-2; two closest predictions) -Duke 27-24
*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 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 29. It will be played at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, NC. It can be seen on The ACC Network.
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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.