2026 Wake Forest Football Preview
Jake Wimberly
Abby Boyd Contributing-
What’s to like:
Wake Forest has consistently done a good job developing players who were overlooked coming out of high school. That ability to identify and develop talent has allowed the Demon Deacons to remain competitive despite not recruiting at the same level as many ACC programs. Player development continues to be one of the program's biggest strengths.
Quarterback development has also been a positive for Wake Forest over the years, and the coaching staff has shown it can get solid production from the position. Combined with the program's tough, disciplined culture, that gives the Demon Deacons an opportunity to surprise opponents who may overlook them during the season.
What’s not to like:
Depth remains one of Wake Forest's biggest concerns. The starting lineup is capable of competing in many games, but injuries could quickly expose a lack of experienced backups. That becomes even more noticeable over the course of a long ACC schedule.
The overall talent gap is another challenge. Wake Forest has consistently found ways to compete through development and execution, but matching the size, speed, and depth of the conference's top programs remains difficult. That leaves the Demon Deacons with a smaller margin for error than many of their opponents.
What does the Hourglass say?
Wake Forest- ACC (6-6)
Power ranking 34.02.
2026 Wake Forest Analytics
National recruiting rating (three year metric): #53- outside the boundary of a National Championship Roster.
National Coaching Ranking:
Jake Dickert- 68th in Power 5 and 17th in the ACC.
2026 coaching value= 3 (average 2026 Power 5 coaching value=21.93) Jake Dickert is ranked lower of the pack for coaches in the Power 5.
Quarterback Play: Gio Lopez- ranked 39th in the Power 4, 10th in the ACC; 2026 QB value= 30.1 (Power 4 average- 26.43).
Impact Ball Catcher Metric: Wake Forest has an Impact Ball Catcher Metric of 2. This puts the Demon Deacons at the lower tier for the ACC in this metric.
Final Thoughts:
Wake Forest continues to find success by developing players and maintaining a disciplined culture. The Demon Deacons may not have the depth of some of the ACC's top programs, but they have consistently found ways to remain competitive. If Wake Forest continues maximizing its talent while improving depth across the roster, it should once again challenge teams throughout the conference.
2026 Schedule analysis:
Projected Hourglass W/L record: Games in red denote games that could be a one possession game or even a different outcome than projection.
9/3/26 AKR- Win
9/12/26 At Purdue- Win
9/18/26 Miami- Loss
9/26/26 At Louisville- Loss
10/3/26 Stanford- Win
10/10/26 At NC State- Loss
10/17/26 At California- Loss
10/31/26 Virginia- Win
11/7/26 Merrimack- Win
11/14/26 At SMU- Loss
11/21/26 At Georgia Tech- Loss
11/28/26 Duke- Win
