Sam Avellone
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Heading into the 2022 college football season, Wake Forest was the biggest threat to Clemson and North Carolina State in the Atlantic Division. However, in recent weeks, we learned that quarterback Sam Hartman will be out indefinitely due to a non-football related medical condition.
Without Hartman, will Wake Forest be able to threaten the Tigers and the Wolfpack for a second straight division title? With the season just a couple weeks away, let’s analyze the Demon Deacons.
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Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2022 college football season odds
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Wake Forest National Championship odds
The Demon Deacons are extreme long shots to win the National Championship at 300/1. They have the same odds as Arizona State, Maryland, West Virginia, and UCF.
Wake Forest ACC Championship odds
Wake Forest is 35/1 to win the ACC, just ahead of Virginia at 40/1 and just behind Florida State at 30/1.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons ACC Atlantic odds
The Demon Deacons are 16/1 to win the ACC Atlantic Division. Only Boston College (18/1) and Syracuse (80/1) have longer odds.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2021 season recap
The Demon Deacons were a force to be reckoned with last season, especially offensively. They started the year 8-0 before losing to Sam Howell’s North Carolina Tar Heels 58-55 in a thrilling high-scoring game. After a 45-42 win over North Carolina State, the Demon Deacons lost to Clemson 48-27 before ending the regular season with a 41-10 win over Boston College. The Demon Deacons made the ACC Championship game for the first time since 2006 when they lost to Pitt 45-21. Wake Forest ended its season with an 11-3 record after a win over Rutgers in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
Wake Forest averaged 41 points per game last season, which ranked third in all of college football. Furthermore, the Demon Deacons scored less than 30 points just twice all year. Hartman was elite at the quarterback position, throwing for 4,228 yards and 39 touchdowns while rushing for 364 yards and 11 more touchdowns. Outside of Hartman’s rushing ability, Wake Forest had a three-headed rushing attack at running back with Christian Beal-Smith, Christian Turner and Justice Ellison combining for 1,772 total yards and 20 touchdowns. A.T. Perry and Jaquarii Roberson led the pass-catchers with 71 receptions each and combined for 2,371 yards and 23 touchdowns. Defensively, Wake Forest left a lot to be desired. The Demon Deacons ranked 84th in opponent points per game and 89th in opponent yards per game, allowing 7 FBS opponents to score 34 points or more.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2022 college football season predictions
With Hartman out for the foreseeable future, the Wake Forest offense will look a bit different in 2022. Behind him in the depth chart are two inexperienced quarterbacks in redshirt sophomore Michael Kern and redshirt freshman Mitch Griffis, so expect regression from the quarterback position at Wake Forest this season. Beal-Smith transferred to South Carolina, but Turner and Ellison remain to lead the rushing attack, while Perry returns to lead the wide receiver group. Without Roberson opposite of Perry, the Demon Deacons will look to redshirt sophomores Donavon Greene, who did not play in 2021 due to a knee injury, and Taylor Morin (43 receptions, 621 yards, 5 touchdowns in 2021) to fill the void.
Wake Forest will have an experienced offensive line to play behind with 4 starters returning from last season in addition to Je’Vionte’ Nash, who also missed the 2021 season due to injury. On the other side of the ball, Brad Lambert takes over as Wake Forest’s defensive coordinator and hopes to improve the production of this unit much as he did at Purdue. The Demon Deacons lost 2 of their 3 top tacklers in the offseason, and depth may be a concern, but there are some returning pieces for which to be excited. Linebacker Ryan Smenda Jr. returns after posting 83 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss a season ago, while Rondell Bothroyd will lead the defensive line after 63 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 7 sacks in 2021.
The secondary will be the biggest question mark on the defensive side of the ball, as Wake Forest will likely deploy 3 true sophomores at cornerback and safety to go along with Coby Davis, who missed most of last season with an injury. Lambert’s leadership may help the defense a bit, but this still appears to be an average-at-best unit that could rank outside the top 60 in opponent points per game again. Without Hartman to lead the offense, the defense will be even more of a glaring weakness if Wake Forest is unable to put up 40+ points per game.
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Best Bet: Wake Forest Demon Deacons under 6.5 regular season wins (+135)
Before the Hartman news broke, I recommended a play on under 8.5 regular season wins for Wake Forest in the Pickswise ACC Preview. Now that we know Hartman will be out indefinitely, oddsmakers dropped this line from 8.5 to 6.5, and I still believe it is too high. Hartman was the primary reason for the offense’s success, and there will likely be a significant drop-off in quarterback production without him. Without a solid defense to rely on and with Hartman’s return in question, it is hard to see Wake Forest ending the season with a winning record. As it stands currently, I have Wake Forest penciled in for 4 wins against VMI, Liberty, Syracuse and Duke.
A true road game in week 2 against Vanderbilt will not be easy for a Wake Forest team working in a new quarterback, while back-to-back-to-back games against Clemson, Florida State, and Army will be difficult with a porous defense. After their bye week, the Demon Deacons will host Boston College, which will have quarterback Phil Jurkovec back on the field, before back-to-back road games against high-octane offenses in Louisville and North Carolina State. Hopefully, for Wake Forest fans, Hartman returns sooner rather than later. However, until we know if or when he will return, I cannot help but like this play even at a reduced number of 6.5.
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