First game of the post-Clawson era, live under the ACC Network lights, and Wake Forest picked about as soft a landing spot as it could find. Akron's just here to cash the check.
Bush’s Picks
AKRWAKE
AKRWAKE
OverUnder
Best BetWake Forest
Wake Forest should be priced like the sizable favorite it is here, and the gap in roster talent backs that up. Akron's defense is down key pieces after a rough portal offseason, while the Demon Deacons return the core of a nine-win team. This is a lay-it-and-forget-it spot for the home side.
Akron
+Nothing to lose as a heavy road underdog
+Poffenbarger once led FCS in passing yards
−Went 5-7, ineligible for postseason on APR
−Net -20 transfer portal, lost DBs and WR
Wake Forest
+Won 9 games, Duke's Mayo Bowl champs
+Returning playmakers Patterson, Hernandez, Hardy back
−No named starting QB after Ashford departs
−Dickert's system still new entering year 2
Both sidelines have a QB question mark heading into this one. Wake Forest lost Robby Ashford, its bowl MVP, to graduation and is sorting through a competition led by UNC transfer Gio Lopez, who reportedly looked like the most polished arm in spring ball but hasn't been named the starter. Akron's picture is murkier — Reese Poffenbarger, a well-traveled transfer who once led all of FCS in passing yards at Albany, joined in February and figures into an open battle of his own. Neither staff has tipped its hand publicly, so don't be shocked if game week brings the first real clarity for either side.
The gap here isn't really about who wins the quarterback battle, though — it's about depth. Akron's roster took a net loss of 20 players through the portal this offseason, including its top receiver and a starting defensive back, right as it walks into a Power 4 building. Wake Forest, by contrast, is bringing back its top corner in Davaughn Patterson, its primary return man in Carlos Hernandez, and reigning ACC tackle-for-loss leader Langston Hardy. That's the kind of mismatch that shows up on a scoreboard long before it shows up in a box score.
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AKR Akron
WAKE Wake Forest
This is also the first-ever meeting between these two programs, so there's no history to lean on — just context. Akron made a habit last year of taking Power 4 money games and getting run off the field, dropping three of them by a combined 151-30 while pocketing over $3 million for the trouble. Jake Dickert, entering year 2 in Winston-Salem after an 8-4 debut capped by a Duke's Mayo Bowl win, would happily add another lopsided score to open his tenure at home.
Akron Zips
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Recent form.
Akron's other problem: it wasn't just a losing season last year, it was one bad enough on the academic side to get the Zips banned from the postseason regardless of their 5-7 record. That's not the profile of a program built to steal one on the road against a nine-win team fresh off a bowl trophy. Wake Forest's concern is far more mundane — new coordinator wrinkles, a new QB1, and the general sloppiness that comes with any season opener, even a lopsided one.
Akron Zips
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
None of that changes the shape of this game much. Wake Forest has the roster, the home crowd, and a defending-a-bowl-win chip on its shoulder; Akron has a paycheck and a prayer. The only real drama is how early Dickert can pull his starters.
