Game Time:  4:00 EDT, Friday September 3rd, 2021

Venue:  Truist Field, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Where to Watch: ACCN

Draft Kings:  Spread:  Wake Forest -31,  O/U 64

BetMGM:  Spread: Wake Forest -31, O/U  64

Demon Deacons:  0-0, First game of the season!  Atlantic Coast Conference

Old Dominion:  0-0, First game in 18 months!  Conference USA

 

Sean Murphy kicked off the college football season with a PERFECT 3-0 SWEEP last Saturday!  Get SEAN’s 10* CFB FRI ACC GAME OF THE MONTH!   It's available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.

 

Recent Form:

 

Wake Forest went 4-5 overall, 3-4 in conference. They are looking to bounce back and play the ACC strong against everybody except Clemson.

 

In 2019 Old Dominion went 1-11 overall, 0-8 in conference.  They are technically on an 11 game losing streak if streaks are allowed to skip a year.  I assume they do.

 

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons averaged 36 points and 444 yards per game in 2020. Sam Hartman returns as their starting quarterback another year older and wiser after throwing for 2,200 yards in the shortened season of 2020.   Christian Beal Smith is back as the starting running back with 700 yards rushing in 2020. Also returning are the wide-outs Jaquarii Roberson and Donovan Greene.  Starters at every skill spot.  They will field the same team and most likely be the same team.  

The Old Dominion Monarchs averaged 16.3 points and 273.8 yards per game in 2019… their last season.  They didn’t play in 2020.  They went 1-11 in the last season they played and have missed an entire season since.  Stone Smartt is back as the starting quarterback.  He’s a duel threat; he throws for very few yards and rushes for even fewer.  He did have some rushing TD’s though.  When a 1-11 team shuts down for an entire calendar year and the starting quarterback just waits instead of transferring you can kind of get an idea of what type of student athlete Old Dominion has… the kind that’s more student.  Not a knock on them, they just aren’t a quality Division 1 offense…. But wait, Some conflicting reports about the Old Dominion football team list DJ Mack as the Starting Quarterback.

The Wake Forest defense gave up 32.8 points per game and allowed 435.8 yards a game in 2020.  A very slim margin from their offensive stats. 

 

Old Dominion did not play in 2020.  They will be rebuilding from a 1-11 season AND shaking off rust from sitting out an entire year.  They will have more holes than swiss.

Old Dominion is more than an underdog in the season opener… They are sitting ducks. For entertainment purposes Old Dominion is fielding a team.  Head Coach Ricky Rahne who last was an offensive coordinator at Penn State will put together a roster that will stump sports odds makers at all the major casinos.  Just how big can a point spread get?  And should you bet an Over if one side isn’t going to score much and the opponent will score nearly every time they touch the ball? It’s not that I don’t have faith in the Monarchs, it's that no one should!  

The offensive line of the Demon Deacons will give Sam Hartman plenty of time to execute the passing game and as long as they eliminate big mistakes they should win by 40 points.  When we last saw Wake Forest was in the bowl collapse… you remember, Duke’s Mayo Bowl… So maybe to tune up this year they thought they’d start with an easy, if not borderline unfair,  matchup to give their fans an exciting week.

The PREDICTION for Old Dominion vs Wake Forest Friday sept 3rd 2021: 

 Wake Forest  47 - Old Dominion 9.  They will cover the 31-35 points  but go Under if the O/U stays around 64.  

 

 

This is the first meeting ever of Wake Forest and Old Dominion.

5 of Old Dominion’s last 7 games have hit Over.

Wake Forest is 6-0 ATS in it’s last six home games.

 

 

Wake Forest :  Donavon Greene WR Out, JeVionte Nash RT Out

No injuries reported by Old Dominion.  

The Wake Forest player to watch is Jaquarii Roberson.  He was supposed to team up with Donavan Greene to make a dynamic duo… but Greene will miss the season with an ACL tear.  That leaves Jaquarii as the primary target WR1.

I guess for Old Dominion it would be QB!  Someone watch this game and tell me if the starting quarterback ends up being Stone Smartt or DJ Mack?>

 

“We want more. There’s a whole ‘nother level that we want to get to,” -Dave Clawson, Wake Forest head coach.

 

"We are thrilled to announce our 2021 schedule. This schedule features six exciting home games for our fans and some great atmospheres for our program to compete on the road,... With this announcement, the process for preparing for the 2021 season truly begins, but our main priority will continue to be 1-0 each and every day." - Ricky Rahne Monarchs head coach.

 

Wake Forest 

QB ​​Sam Hartman

RB Christian Beal-Smith

WR Taylor Morin

WR A.T. Perry

WR  Jaquarii Roberson

TE  Brandon Chapman

LT  Zach Tom

LG Loic Ngassam Nya

C  Michael Jurgens

RG  Sean Maginn

RT DeVonte Gordon

 

Old Dominion

QB DJ Mack Jr

RB  Elijah Davis

WR  Nigel Fitzgerald

WR  Aaron Moore

WR  Trey Blount

LT  Tyran Hunt

LG  Leroy Thomas

C   Isaac Weaver

RG  Kyle Young

RT  Nick Saldiveri

TE  Donta Anthony Jr

 

Coaches: Ricky Rahne (1st Season ?... Did 2020 count?)

Wake Forest:  Dave Clawson (8th season)

 

Clear skies with a daytime high of 81*,  Humidity 50% (ouch), wind 8 mph.