The Wake Forest Demon Deacons begin their 2018 season with a road game against the Tulane Green Wave. Game time is set for 8:00 EST on Thursday, August 30, at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network. Oddsmakers list the Demon Deacons as 7-point favorites on the road. See more of this week’s lines and get game previews on the major games here.
The Demon Deacons are coming off their best season of the Dave Clawson era. Wake finished 8-5 in 2017, including a 4-4 record in the unforgiving ACC Atlantic and a Belk Bowl victory over Texas A&M.
After the Deacons went 3-9 in Clawson’s first two seasons in Winston-Salem, he has now guided Wake Forest to back-to-back bowl appearances. The goal for Clawson is now to keep the Demon Deacons at that level in 2018 despite some key losses on both sides of the ball.
Clawson has accomplished at Wake Forest what Tulane coach Willie Fritz hopes to do with the Green Wave. Tulane finished 5-7 last season, falling just one game short of bowl eligibility. The Green Wave suffered a 1-point loss to Cincinnati and a 3-point loss to SMU late in the year. A win in either game could have taken them to a bowl.
Despite going 9-15 over his first two seasons, Tulane awarded Fritz over the summer with a contract extension through the 2023 season. Obviously, the school believes Fritz is guiding the program in the right direction. Of course, it’d still be nice to make some noise in 2018, and a season-opening win over an ACC opponent would do just that.
Wake Forest is rightly the favorite in this matchup. But this could be a tricky game for them. Tulane finished last season strong and has a lot coming back this year. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons have some questions that they’ll have to answer while opening the season on the road. Wake Forest should win the game, but the Green Wave won’t make it easy, so I’ll lean toward Tulane and the points.
Wake Forest’s questions begin with the quarterback position. John Wolford provided stability there for four seasons and must now be replaced. Kendall Hinton was in line for the job but got himself suspended for the first three games of the season. That means Wake must go with Plan C, which appears to be true freshman Sam Hartman.
The saving grace for the Demon Deacons should be a veteran offensive line and a reliable running back in Matt Colburn, who excelled the second half of the 2017 season. Slot receiver Greg Dortch should also be a good safety net for Hartman and a bonafide playmaker for the Wake Forest offense. However, relying on a true freshman to start a road game in his debut could be a slippery slope for the Deacons.
The Tulane defense won’t be a pushover either. They may give up a little size to the Wake offensive line, but the Green Wave have some quality playmakers in the front-7. Tulane also has a nice stable of cornerbacks to help matchup against Dortch and the other Wake Forest wide receivers. In short, the Demon Deacons will have to work hard to move the ball and score points against the Tulane defense.
Tulane may actually have the more dynamic offense in this game. They’ve been overly reliant on their running game the past couple of seasons, but senior quarterback Jonathan Banks should give them a little more balance this season. Banks can be a dangerous runner, but he also threw the ball well toward the end of last season and during spring practice. He could allow the Green Wave to air it out a little more this season. Tulane also return their top three receivers from a year ago, so the Green Wave should have plenty of continuity in the passing game.
Meanwhile, the Tulane rushing attack should be in good shape this year. They’ll have to replace 1,000-yard rusher Dontrell Hilliard. But Darius Bradwell and Texas Tech transfer Corey Dauphine should create a dangerous tandem. Remember, the Green Wave has been a run-dominant team under Fritz, so running the ball is their bread and butter.
Meanwhile, the Wake Forest defense has some concerns in the front-7 after losing a few key players. The Demon Deacons were also atrocious against the pass the second half of last season, meaning their defense could be vulnerable to kickoff the 2018 campaign, especially if Tulane is able to establish a productive rushing attack early in the game.
This game is anything but a lock for Wake Forest. In fact, it’s been common for mid-level ACC teams to struggle against lower-level opponents in recent years. The Wake offensive line should ultimately be the difference maker, as Tulane could wear down against them over the course of four quarters. But the Green Wave have a chance to keep pace with the Deacons offensively, so they’re not going to go away easily. Ultimately, I’ll take my chances with Tulane and the points.