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We know at least one A.C.C. team is going to be the conference’s whipping boy. I don’t necessarily...

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We know at least one A.C.C. team is going to be the conference’s whipping boy. I don’t necessarily think Wake Forest will be alone in this regard, but I do think the Demon Deacons are in for another year defined by youth, inexperience and the resulting struggles that accompany such a combination. Perhaps inexperience is the wrong word: the team is far more unproven than it is inexperienced, and still has much to prove in and out of conference play before earning the benefit of the doubt. The schedule also won’t do Wake any favors, pitting it against nine 2010 bowl teams and three teams — you guess which ones — with very real B.C.S. aspirations. In terms of the schedule overall, only one other F.B.S. opponent, Vanderbilt, enters 2011 with similar question marks; Wake could be the underdog in each of the remaining games, barring an unexpected one-year leap forward. We won’t know about that type of progression until this team steps on the field. For now, there are concerns about the quarterback position, where Price might be better but is still green; the offensive line and the secondary has returning talent but needs to come together; and the defensive line, particularly on the nose, needs to be retooled. It doesn’t smell like a positive season. But as noted in the opening, I’ve been wrong many times before when it comes to the Demon Deacons.

Paul Myerberg with an excellent profile of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Trust me here, doing a preview this early is tough work. http://www.presnapread.com/no-96-wake-forest/