Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Date: Nov. 14, Chapel Hill, NC

Wake Forest 2019 Record: 8-5, 4-4 ACC

Postseason: Lost to Michigan State in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Returning Starters: 5 Offense, 8 Defense

Head Coach: Dave Clawson enters his seventh season at the helm at Wake where he owns a 36-40 overall record, including 16-32 in the ACC. He’s led the Demon Deacons to four consecutive bowls, winning three of them. The 52-year-old has 21 total years of experience as a college head coach.

3 Key Players: Boogie Basham, DL (the senior finished last season with 57 tackles, including 18 TFLs, 11 of which were sacks, the second most in school history), Sam Hartman, QB (RS Soph passed for 830 yards and 4 TDs a year ago, but two seasons ago passed for 1,984 yards, 16 TDs and 8 INTs), Donovan Greene (RS FR had 13 catches in four games last season and is a big-time talent who will be targeted a lot this season and must come through.)

Must Figure Out: There’s plenty of uncertainty along the offensive line, after three starters moved on and one of the remaining ones has changed positions. Wake lost three starters following the 2018 season, too, so depth is a concern here.

In Great Shape: It's hard to find where Wake is in great shape in any position group just yet, but one thing is for certain, Clawson will get the most out of this team. He will move players around to fit even better, tweak schemes and get them ready to compete. He's a much better coach than most people realize.

Looking Ahead: “Wake Forest might be, for the first time since 2016, better defensively than offensively. The Deacons' defense returns a significant chunk of its experience, including All-ACC end Boogie Basham, while the offense lost eight starters -- including quarterback Jamie Newman to Georgia.” – Conor O’Neil, Winston-Salem Journal.

History vs. UNC: UNC leads 69-36-2 but Wake won the last meeting.

Wake’s ACC slate: Home: Clemson, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami; Away: NC State, Syracuse, UNC, Duke Louisville; Neutral: Notre Dame.

Matchup with UNC: The Tar Heels are wise to not focus on the revenge factor much, but one has to think that will play into some of the mental psyching for this game after they fell at Wake a year ago. It may not be needed, though. The Deacons will be solid, but on paper appear to come up short in various matchups with the Heels. At home, Carolina should be in good shape here.

Rivals site: Deacons Illustrated