What Did We Learn After Wake Forest Wins Big Over NC State?
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Welcome back to What Did We Learn. My weekly article - a two-year-long tradition - where, at the end of every weekend, I release my weekly "What Did We Learn." It's an opinionated editorial detailing what Demon Deacon fans can take away from the week before that might not show up in the box score.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are 5-1 and ranked, and they look like one of the better teams in the country, dismantling teams as of late.
Half the schedule is still left to be played, and with the state of college football, chaos is always afoot, but the Demon Deacons look like they have figured things out, at least through the first half of the season.
Can they continue this hot start and finish the task from last season, potentially achieving a task only done twice in program history, or is it time for cautious optimism?
Is It Time to Throw Caution to the Wind?
College football is about fan ship, and about connecting with the school that each fan holds close to home. With the days of NIL here, and the seemingly lack of loyalty in today's sport, finding passion within a fanbase, unless they are a perennial top-five team, is often hard to find.
But every now and then, a story comes across like the ones the Demon Deacons have ventured on. They aren't blue bloods, and arguably, would be one of the last teams in the Power Four grouping to even be considered in that area.
But here they are, 5-1, with their only loss of the season coming against the top-five -ranked Miami Hurricanes. They have blown out teams they were supposed to. They have won close games that define the culture of a team, and they have a ranked win on the road that only a small group of teams around the country can also say they have.
This is college football, and this is the 2026 Demon Deacons. A team that was rebuilt after being stripped of some of the better players from last year, but one thing remained constant, head coach Jake Dickert.
Because of that, and frankly, because of how good this team has looked, it's time to throw caution to the wind. It's time for fans to invest fully and believe that this is the season the Deacs can show exactly why they are different under the Dickert regime.
Half the season still remains, but I'm fully sold that this could be a playoff team, and one that could make a lot of noise that some conferences might not like. They have the pieces and the coaching. Now it's about the belief, and fully buying in to what they can accomplish.
The team has done that, but now it's your turn.
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JD Andress is an accomplished sports writer and journalist with extensive experience covering a wide range of collegiate sports. JD has provided in-depth coverage of the TCU Horned Frogs and the Texas Longhorns. He looks forward to being part of the coverage of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. His experience spans various sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, rifle, equestrian, and others, reflecting his broad interest and commitment to sports journalism.