Wake Forest Looks to Build on Breakthrough 2025 Season in Home Opener Against Akron
By Dez | Pretty Girls Media
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The standard has changed at Wake Forest.
A year ago, the Demon Deacons entered the season with plenty of questions surrounding a program undergoing a coaching transition. By the time the 2025 campaign ended, those questions had been replaced by something much different: expectations.
Now, with a new season arriving Thursday night, Wake Forest has an opportunity to show that last year's success was not a one-year story.
The Demon Deacons will open the 2026 season at home against Akron on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. ET at Allegacy Stadium. The game will air on ACC Network.
For head coach Jake Dickert and his team, Opening Night represents the first step toward answering the biggest question surrounding the program: How much further can Wake Forest go after putting together one of the best seasons in school history?
From surprise season to raised expectations
Dickert's first season in Winston-Salem could hardly have gone better.
Wake Forest finished 9-4 in 2025, giving the program just its fourth nine-win season. The Demon Deacons capped the campaign with a 43-29 victory over Mississippi State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, with quarterback Robby Ashford throwing five touchdown passes to earn game MVP honors.
The season also included victories over ranked opponents SMU and Virginia, with the win over No. 12 Virginia marking the Cavaliers' only home loss of the season. Wake Forest also defeated North Carolina in a sold-out Allegacy Stadium.
The nine victories were particularly significant for Dickert. They represented the most wins by a first-year Wake Forest head coach in program history, surpassing the previous mark of seven established by Bill Dooley in 1987.
But that success also changes the conversation.
Wake Forest is no longer simply trying to prove it can compete.
The Deacs are trying to prove they belong in the conversation year after year.
Gio Lopez takes over the offense
One of the biggest storylines entering Thursday's opener will be the debut of quarterback Gio Lopez.
Lopez arrives in Winston-Salem with experience at both South Alabama and North Carolina, and perhaps most importantly for Wake Forest, he already knows offensive coordinator Rob Ezell.
The connection dates back to South Alabama, where Lopez broke out in 2024. He started 11 games, completing 65.9% of his passes for 2,557 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 465 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. He averaged 274.7 yards of total offense per game.
Lopez then transferred to North Carolina, where he started 11 games in 2025. He completed 170 of 261 passes for 1,747 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 133 rushing yards and three scores.
Now he returns to a familiar offensive system.
That familiarity could prove important early.
Lopez doesn't have to spend the opening weeks learning an entirely new system while simultaneously learning a new coaching staff. He already understands Ezell's approach, terminology and expectations.
For Wake Forest, the hope is that familiarity translates into consistency.
And there is plenty of offensive talent around him.
Carlos Hernandez returns after leading the Demon Deacons in receiving last season with 40 catches for 611 yards and three touchdowns. Hernandez also produced one of Wake Forest's biggest plays of the season with an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown against Virginia.
The challenge will be replacing the production lost from last year's team, including standout running back Demond Claiborne, who moved on to the NFL.
That puts more responsibility on Lopez and the rest of the returning offensive core to keep the offense moving.
Davaughn Patterson enters the season with NFL attention
On the other side of the ball, Wake Forest has one of the ACC's more intriguing defensive prospects in Davaughn Patterson.
Patterson enters his redshirt junior season following an impressive 2025 campaign in which he earned All-ACC honorable mention recognition.
He finished with 80 total tackles, four tackles for loss, nine pass breakups and a forced fumble. His nine passes defended led Wake Forest and ranked sixth in the ACC. He also played 753 defensive snaps, among the highest totals in the conference.
His performance against SMU was particularly notable. Patterson recorded seven tackles, three pass breakups and a forced fumble while earning ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors and a spot on Pro Football Focus' Team of the Week.
Now, Patterson has another distinction to carry into the season.
The Senior Bowl has named him to its 2027 Top 300, a preseason list designed to identify draft-eligible players viewed among the nation's premier NFL Draft prospects.
That does not guarantee Patterson a spot in the Senior Bowl or the NFL Draft. What it does provide is another indication that professional evaluators are already watching what he does at Wake Forest.
And his role is expected to grow.
After spending much of 2025 at the nickel position, Patterson is moving toward a larger role at safety. Wake Forest's defensive staff believes the move can put him in position to make an even greater impact.
That makes Patterson one of the players worth watching from the opening snap Thursday night.
Akron arrives looking for a different start
Akron enters Winston-Salem following a 5-7 season in 2025, including a 4-4 record in Mid-American Conference play. The Zips averaged 22.25 points per game while allowing 27.42.
The Zips also enter 2026 with something they did not have heading into the previous season: postseason eligibility.
The NCAA lifted Akron's postseason ban in March, making the program eligible for the MAC championship and a bowl game if it reaches the six-win threshold. The program had operated under practice restrictions during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
That makes Thursday more than just another season opener for Akron.
It is the beginning of a season in which the Zips can once again compete for something tangible at the end of the schedule.
But they will have to start that pursuit on the road against a Wake Forest team that has considerably higher expectations than it did a year ago.
The bigger picture for Wake Forest
The Akron game should be viewed as more than an opportunity to add a win.
It is the beginning of a season in which Wake Forest has to prove it can sustain success.
The 2025 season established that Dickert can win at Wake Forest. The 2026 season will determine whether that success can become the foundation of something bigger.
The schedule will give the Demon Deacons opportunities to find out quickly.
After Akron, Wake Forest travels to Purdue on Sept. 12 before returning home for a nationally televised matchup against Miami on Sept. 18. The Hurricanes reached the College Football Playoff National Championship game last season.
That means there is little room for Wake Forest to ease into the season.
The Akron game is the first test.
Purdue is next.
Then comes Miami.
A new season, same goal
For Wake Forest, Thursday night is about turning the page without forgetting what made 2025 special.
The Demon Deacons have returning playmakers, an experienced quarterback in Lopez, an emerging NFL prospect in Patterson and a coaching staff that now knows what it takes to win in Winston-Salem.
But none of that guarantees another nine-win season.
The 2025 team earned its success.
The 2026 team has to do it again.
And it starts Thursday night.
Wake Forest and Akron kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Sept. 3 at Allegacy Stadium, with the game airing on ACC Network.
For a program that spent much of last season exceeding expectations, the challenge now is much different.
The expectation is to go further.
Sources
This preview was researched using Wake Forest and Akron athletics materials, the ACC, and the Panini Senior Bowl's official Top 300 information.
