Three Storylines to the Game: Wake Forest vs Akron
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Wake Forest lost 24 players to the transfer portal after the 2025 season, forcing Coach Dickert and staff to go heavy on portal recruitment. The Demon Deacons will add 11 new transfers on offense and seven on defense.
Here are three storylines to watch going into tonight's season opener:
How Will Wake's New Offense Perform With QB Gio Lopez?
Offensive Coordinator Rob Ezell will heavily rely on transfer quarterback Gio Lopez. He threw for a total of 1,747 yards on 170 completions last year at North Carolina. Lopez tossed a total of 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions with the Tar Heels. His main target will be returning wideout Carlos Hernandez, who racked up 611 yards on 40 receptions and 3 touchdowns in 2025. Hernandez stands at 6'0, 190 pounds, and will be looking for a breakout senior campaign.
Another wide receiver to keep an eye on is transfer Kam Shanks. He recorded 101 yards on 9 receptions, with a single touchdown during his only year with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Cam is a junior who spent his first two years at UAB before transferring to Arkansas. Shanks will be a great addition in the slot for the Deacs.
Wake Forest's run game will feature Nashville native Ty Clark III. He is a junior running back who spent his entire college tenure with the Demon Deacons. Clark works well in both the run and pass game and will look to build his draft stock this season. In 2025, Ty ran for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns, and racked up 209 receiving yards along with one touchdown through the air.
Can Wake's Seasoned Defense Surpass Last Year's Unit?
The Demon Deacons' defense will feature seven starting seniors this season, along with two sophomores and two juniors.
Wake's defensive line will be one of the most experienced in the entire ACC this season. It features four seniors, headlined by defensive end Langston Hardy. He had a monster season for the Deacons in 2025, recording a total of 7 sacks and 17 tackles for loss.
Middle linebacker Aiden Hall will look to lead the defense this year. He recorded a total of 73 tackles, of which 26 were solo. Hall has spent his entire college football career at Wake Forest and looks to end it with a successful senior season.
With Unanswered Eligibility Questions, Which QB Will Start for the Zips?
Akron’s head coach is responsible for the RPO's popularity throughout college football. Joe Moorhead is a proven coach who instantly improved the Penn State Nittany Lions' offense by 14 points and 100 yards per game in 2015. Wake should expect a lot of slow-developing RPOs.
However, the projected starting QB for the Zips is locked in an eligibility battle, as he has already played his 5 seasons. No announcement has been made yet about whether he will return. The only other option for the Zips is redshirt sophomore QB Brayden Raggow, who has little experience in collegiate football.
Akron also dealt with the departure of their most explosive offensive weapon, Israel Polk, who had 8 touchdowns for the Zips last season. The Zips do have a solid back in Jordan Grant, who was the program's first 1000 yard rusher since 2008.
If the defense is as talented as it was last year, it should have no issues against the Akron offense, which has an inexperienced QB and 3 starting offensive linemen who left in the portal.
The highlight of the season for the Zips last year was the defensive side of the ball. This team was phenomenal on third downs; however, they lost three of their top four pass rushers in the portal. There are only 2 returners on the defense who had more than 2 sacks last season.
The top two linebackers also left the Zips program, along with their top two defensive backs. Akron was 1-6 last year when their opponent threw for more than 200 yards. They gave up nearly 500 yards through the air against Nebraska.
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