ACC Preview (Wake Forest)

Wake Forest – Last Year (11-3, 6-2), Returning Starters: 13 (8 off., 5 def.)

Wake Forest had a magical year last year, including an ACC Championship, a BCS birth, and destroying long-time ACC power Florida State 30-0. WF is in good hands again this year, although another ACC Championship probably isn’t in the cards.

Offense: Wake Forest returns eight offensive starters, and former starting tailback Micah Andrews is back from an injury last year. He will give Wake a legitimate rushing threat this year, as their leading rusher last year rushed for just 500 yards. WF does, however, return its three leading rushers who combined for over 1200 yards and 11 TDs. Sophomore Quarterback Riley Skinner had a fantastic freshman year in 2006. He completed over 65 percent of his passes, and threw for over 2000 yards. WF returns four of its linemen, and although it loses its top two receivers, Kevin Marion is more than ready to step in.

Defense: Defense was a slight problem last year for Wake Forest, and is likely to be a problem again. Although the Deacs ranked second in scoring, it ranked 11th in passing, giving up 217 yards per game. To make matters worse, they must replace three starters in the secondary. Jon Abbate was Wake Forest’s leading tackler a year ago, and he chose to forgo his senior season and leave for the NFL. However, WF does return it’s two other LBs.

Special Teams: Wake Forest is in good hands in this area. Junior Sam Swank is one the best triple threats in the game, and will be on an NFL roster when he’s done at WF. Returning punts will be Kenneth Moore, and Kevin Marion will return kicks.

Conclusion: Wake will be good again this year, but will struggle to complete another ACC Championship with Florida State on the rebound.

S 1st at Boston College L
S 8th Nebraska W
S 15th Army W
S 22nd Maryland W
O 6th at Duke W
O 11th Florida State L
O 20th at Navy W
O 27th North Carolina W
N 3rd at Virginia W
N 10th at Clemson W
N 17th NC State W
N 24th at Vanderbilt W