Enter Sandman, But Who Wakes With a Win? Our Staff Makes Their Predictions
In this story:
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-2, 0-2 ACC) hit the road for the first time this season, as they travel to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies (2-3, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday, October 4.
Wake Forest enters the matchup at 2-2 after squeaking by against Kennesaw State, decisively beating Western Carolina, collapsing in the second half against NC State, after a very competitive first half, and then losing a heartbreaker to nationally ranked Georgia Tech.
Last week, our staff was unanimous in their selections of Georgia Tech. Blake came the closest last week with his prediction of Georgia Tech 31 - Wake Forest 24 (the final score was 30-29).
But what does our staff think about the game this week? Our picks are not unanimous, but even though the Deacs are the underdogs, the majority of our staff has picked a Wake Forest win. Only three have selected the Hokies to win. Our average point differential is 8.4 points, and our average total points scored is 54.0 points.
With his two closest score predictions this season, Brett is at the top of our leaderboard. Andrew, Sean, and JD are all 4-0 and next on the leaderboard. Andrew has the edge, though, because his cumulative point differential is less. Blake and Carson are at the top of those with a 3-1 record.
Staff Leaderboard after Week Five
Place | Name | Wins | Losses | Closest | Cumulative Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brett | 4 | 0 | 2 | 65 |
2 | Andrew | 4 | 0 | 0 | 85 |
3 | Sean | 4 | 0 | 0 | 86 |
4 | JD | 4 | 0 | 0 | 87 |
5 | Blake | 3 | 1 | 1 | 65 |
6 | Carson | 3 | 1 | 1 | 75 |
7 | Ryder | 3 | 1 | 0 | 91 |
8 | Barry | 3 | 1 | 0 | 94 |
9 | Keylor | 3 | 1 | 0 | 101 |
10* | Evan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
11* | Justin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
* Writers who joined the staff after Week One
Staff Predictions - Wake Forest at Virginia Tech
Andrew Bauhs (4-0) - Virginia Tech 26-20
Barry Lewis (3-1) - Wake Forest 28-24
Blake Robison (3-1; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 31-17
Brett Gibbons (4-0; two closest predictions) - Virginia Tech 28-20
Carson Wersal (3-1; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 28-24
Evan Harris* (2-0) - Virginia Tech 35-31
JD Andress (4-0) - Wake Forest 27-20
Justin Kontul* (1-0) - Wake Forest 31-27
Keylor Piers (3-1) - Wake Forest 45-30
Ryder Solberg (3-1) - Wake Forest 33-17
Sean Kennedy (4-0) -Wake Forest 31-21
*Evan and Justin joined our team after the season began. Neither participated in the first two or three staff predictions
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 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 4. It will be played at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, and can be seen on the CW.
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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.