Wake Forest plays Clemson in the Marquee Event of the Weekend for ESPN College Gameday Crew

For the first time ever, the College GameDay crew will be in Winston-Salem, NC (espn.com)

Lights, camera, action and no fans. Wake Forest's first game of the season will be like no other before. With no fans in the stands but a national primetime audience and ESPN College GameDay, the stakes are as high as ever as the Deacons take on No. 1 Clemson at Truist Field. 

It’s a daunting task for the Demon Deacons, to say the least, as the Tigers open the season ranked No. 1 for the second straight season. For redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Hartman and the Deacons on Saturday, it is time to shine regardless of the circumstances.

“At this point if they told us we were playing on the Lower Quad and you had to play in helmets and underwear, I’d be excited,” Hartman said. “I feel for Wake Forest students because [GameDay] is a cool experience… Hopefully we start winning these games and they will keep coming back.”

A win against Clemson would make a statement. Clemson is 67-17-1 in its 85 matchups against Wake Forest and have outscored the Deacons 115-6 over the past two years. They won last year in Clemson 52-3 and Wake’s last win was a 12-7 home victory in 2008.

Wake Forest also returns less than 15% of their offensive production including projected first-round pick Sage Surratt who recently opted out. Three veterans from the offensive line plus star defenders Essang Bassey and Justin Strnad are gone as well. The Tigers will be without a whole host of players including many star defenders who are in the NFL and veteran receiver Justyn Ross who is out for the season.

While both teams lost star players, both also return probable first-round draft picks. Clemson running back Travis Etienne and Wake Forest defensive end Boogie Basham very well could have taken their talents to the NFL but each decided to return for one final season at their alma maters. 

In addition to Etienne, the Tigers will turn to star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and their young wide receivers on offense. On defense, linebacker James Skalski will be the heartbeat for the Tigers, however he will be out for the first half of the game on Saturday due a targeting penalty in the CFP Championship. 

Wake Forest will lean on Hartman, RB Kenneth Walker and a slew of young receivers, like Taylor Morin and Nolan Groulx, to power the offense. While Basham will lead the defense, safety Nasir Greer and linebackers Ja’Cquez Williams and Ryan Smenda will need to step up too. For Hartman, one of the biggest factors this year is the new blanket waiver that maintains fall sport athletes eligibility as a result of COVID.

“It’s big for Wake Forest; our depth is our weakness because we always try to redshirt freshmen to make sure kids are growing in the weight room first,” Hartman said. “Now, we can play kids and it doesn’t impact their eligibility... It can develop depth for this year, especially on special teams.”

On top of the traditional preparation for the season, this year has involved much more preparation in the era of COVID-19, so game day coming is exciting. While I do think that playing the Tigers at home and on a national level will lead to a great game from the Deacons, the sheer talent of Clemson will likely be too much for a young Wake Forest team. I think Wake Forest will keep it close enough that the Tigers won’t come close to the 33 point spread, but won’t be able to get the win.

DETAILS 

Wake Forest (0-0) vs No. 1 Clemson (0-0)

Date: Saturday, August 12

Time: 7:30 PM

Location: Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC

TV: Broadcast on ABC, with announcers Sean McDonough and Todd Blackledge and sideline reporters Todd McShay and Allison Williams.

Radio: Stan Cotten and Lary Sorensen on the call for IMG Radio.

Vegas Info: Wake is a 33 point underdog, with an over/under of 60.5.

Weather: Partly cloudy with a high of 75.