What's in Store for Wake Forest's Regular Season Finale?

Somehow, the regular season is coming to a close. Thankfully, the Deacs are going bowling! Here's what to expect.

Nov 15, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons wide receiver Carlos Hernandez (8) reacts after a play against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wake Forest Athletics via Imagn Images | Wake Forest Athletics via Imagn Images

Last time out, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8–3, 4–3 ACC) beat up on the inferior Delaware Blue Hens, winning 52–14. To cap off their historic regular season, the Deacs travel to Durham, looking to take down the Duke Blue Devils (6–5, 5–2 ACC) for the first time since 2021.

Their Record Isn't All-Revealing

Nov 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Anderson Castle (4) celebrates a touchdown with offensive lineman Brian Parker II (53) during the second half against North Carolina at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

If the Demon Deacons defeat Duke, this will be the Blue Devils' worst season in the last four seasons. However, despite having five losses to their name, four of them were against then-ranked teams (Illinois, Tulane, Georgia Tech, Virginia).

Their only non-ranked loss came at the hands of Connecticut. The Huskies are an interesting specimen: they have just three losses and are receiving AP Top 25 votes, but those losses came against Delaware, Syracuse, and Rice.

Duke's only non-conference win was against the Elon Phoenix in Week One, where they were tied at halftime.

While their resume is not entirely intimidating, the Blue Devils are well-coached and can be high octane: they have scored 30+ points seven times, and have gone over 40 points four times.

A Look at the Stats

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarter back Darian Mensah (10) drops back for a pass against Virginia Cavaliers defensive lineman Jacob Holmes (23) during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

The Blue Devils average the sixth-most points per game in the ACC (33.3) but rank fifth-worst in points allowed per game (29.2). This pace of play is quite the contrast to Wake Forest's strategy of playing close and low-scoring. The Demon Deacons are 11th in points per game (26.4) and are second in points allowed per game (19.0).

Thanks to Tulane transfer Darian Mensah—and his alleged $8 million contract—Duke leads the ACC in passing yards and ranks second in passing touchdowns. Wake Forest is ranked 14th and 15th, respectively.

Wake Forest does rank higher in rushing yards and touchdowns than Duke, but the Blue Devils have true freshman Nate Sheppard for the Deacs to worry about. Sheppard has 790 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

Trickeration

One last thing to keep an eye on is special teams. In his weekly press conference, Jake Dickert highlighted Duke's unit and specifically focused on their fake field goal against North Carolina that turned the tide en route to a 32–25 victory.

It will be pretty unlikely that the Deacs see the same play as the Tar Heels did, but the expectation should be that a fake will be run at some point, to steal points or a possession.

While the Duke Blue Devils don't control their own destiny, they still have a legitimate path to the ACC Championship in Charlotte. However, if the Demon Deacons trot out of Durham with their ninth victory, it doesn't matter what happens in the rest of the league.