Wake Forest comes off of a 37-13 loss to Clemson. North Carolina State had to cancel its game last week because of COVID-19. Wake Forest has gone to four straight bowl games under Dave Clawson. NC State installed a new offense under new coordinator Tim Beck. With only five spring practices and missed time over the summer, the offense will be a work in progress. NC State was 4-8 last year. Wake is the better football team with a game under their belt.

The Demon Deacons gave a respectable performance in a home loss last week against Clemson, and there's little doubt playing the top-ranked team in the country in their season opener prepared them for the rest of the ACC slate. The Wolfpack are looking to bounce back from a four-win season marked by injuries and a youth-laden roster, but Covid issues have limited their preparation. Devin Leary showed some promise in five games as a freshman starter last season at QB. But Wake's Sam Hartman is in his third year and made some plays against Clemson. Look for the more experienced Deacons to prevail.

The game nobody knew they wanted. I know it was against Clemson, and we shouldn't hold any performance against Clemson against any team, but Wake's offense didn't fill me with much confidence about it going forward. Then there's NC State, which managed an ACC-worst 16.1 points per game in conference play last season, playing its first game. Then there are some trends that are hard to ignore, like the fact the Under is 20-9 in NC State's last 29 ACC games. Or that it's 10-4 in Wake's last 14 ACC games.