Wake Forest’s Road Opener Success: How the Virginia Tech Win Measures Up
This past weekend, Coach Jake Dickert and the Demon Deacons (3-2) earned their first conference win of the 2025 season. With the 30-23 win on Saturday over Virginia Tech (2-4), Wake Forest moved to 3-2 on the season and is now 9-1 in road openers since 2016.
Roadkill ☠️ pic.twitter.com/EPk6tSAc2w
— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) October 4, 2025
The win over the Hokies is impressive for a couple of reasons. For the entire second half, the Demon Deacons were without Demond Claiborne, their star running back, who has accounted for nearly 400 yards and seven touchdowns through the team's first five games.
Not only was the Wake Forest offense challenged down the stretch, but Virginia Tech came away with a win over N.C. State only last weekend. Jake Dickert's squad led the Wolfpack 24-17 at halftime three weeks ago, but a meltdown in the fourth quarter would prevent the Deacons from walking away with the win.
How Does the Win Over the Hokies Stack Up Against Past Road Openers?
With the heartbreaking loss against No.16 Georgia Tech last week, the Demon Deacons could have easily come out flat against the Hokies. With the help of a late-game stand by the Wake Forest defense, Jake Dickert's squad has effectively exorcised its demons from the previous week.
As far as how the win stacks up against road openers of the past, the 30-23 win over Virginia Tech ranks highly among the other nine wins. Not only did last weekend's win come against a Power Four team and conference opponent, but the win also signaled the beginning of the Jake Dickert era in the ACC.
The majority of road openers for Wake Forest don't exactly jump off the page to most. While the 9-1 record in road openers is impressive, some wins come against teams like Old Dominion in 2023, Rice in 2019, and Vanderbilt in 2022. The 45-25 win over the Commodores came before the resurgence of Vanderbilt football.
Some of Wake Forest's better road opener wins include the 34-30 win over N.C. State in 2024, a 37-17 win over Virginia in 2021, and a 34-10 win over Boston College in 2017. The Demon Deacons also had a season-opening 23-17 win over Tulane in 2018.
Wake Forest hanging on to beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg likely doesn't compare to the game against N.C. State in 2024, when the Demon Deacons found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter to come away with the win. During that ACC matchup, Claiborne rushed for over 130 yards and scored Wake Forest's final two touchdowns of the day in the come-from-behind victory.
Other road games for the Demon Deacons this season include Oregon State this coming weekend, Florida State in Week 10, and Duke in Week 14. With a severely underrated defense and an offense that's slowly improving, Wake Forest might not be done winning outside of their home stadium.
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Carson, a 2025 TCU graduate, is a sports journalist who covers college athletics for several On SI sites. While most of his experience is with TCU On SI, he also writes with Wake Forest On SI and Houston On SI. He also has a passion for the college baseball scene, most notably being a fan of TCU Baseball. In 2023, Carson was in Omaha and reported on the Men’s College World Series, where TCU finished 4th in the nation. His past work not only consists of major sports like football, basketball, and baseball, but with others like track and field and cross country as well.