One Area Wake Football Needs to Improve Before ACC Play

The game against Akron exposed a major flaw the Deacons need to fix

Sep 3, 2026; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback Gio Lopez (3) follows the blocks by offensive lineman Jack Hines (78) and offensive lineman Ryan Berger (64) during the first half at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coming off a convincing win last Thursday against Akron, the Demon Deacons should feel happy and confident in their play. They started the game on a 28-0 run and had full control for the whole game, showing they did not lose focus against a lesser opponent.

While we learned a lot from this opening game, and this will help us predict the rest of the season, there were many things that the Deacons need to clean up if they wish to compete and win against some of the tougher opponents on their schedule.

Many storylines were answered thanks to the Deacon's performance, but the questionable plays need to be cleaned up for the future. Their improvement will start by fixing a major flaw in this game: penalties.

Penalties Are a Problem

Wake Forest head football coach Jake Dickert | Evan Harris/Wake Forest on SI

While Wake had a great performance, penalties were definitely a sign of weakness in this past game. They totaled 11 penalties that cost them 115 yards against Akron. That is more penalty yardage than the Deacons suffered all of last season, as the most was 109 yards against Oregon State.

If Wake hopes to compete against the better teams in the ACC, this is a giant issue that they need to clean up. With tough ranked matchups against Miami and Louisville on the horizon, the last thing they can do is hurt themselves with self-inflicted mistakes such as penalties.

Luckily, the Deacons avoided committing turnovers and giving up free possessions, but that shouldn't be an excuse for the penalties. Especially for a team that loves to run the ball and control possession, staying ahead of the chains and not hurting themselves will be important for future matches

What Did Dickert Have to Say?

Wake Forest football head coach Jake Dickert holds a jar of Duke's Mayo after answering questions at the Duke's Mayo Bowl media day on Thursday. | Barry Lewis - Wake Forest On SI

Dickert was happy overall with the performance, as they had a significantly better game compared to their opener from last season. However, he did mention the penalty problem and alluded to how they will need to fix it before they face superior opponents.

"But yeah, you can't win games with that many penalty yards. You just can't. That's what I mean by sloppy attention to detail," Dickert said. "But at the end of the day, we've got to take a really serious look at this film and figure out where we can get better"

Overall, the Demon Deacons should be proud of how they started the season, but they also need to fix the clear issues they have early if they hope to compete in the ACC. They will be put to the test again this Saturday as they face Purdue.