Wake Forest aims for strong follow-up to a 9-win debut season under Jake Dickert

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Cite

Beard, A. (2026, August 19). Wake Forest aims for strong follow-up to a 9-win debut season under Jake Dickert. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/wake-forest-aims-for-strong-follow-up-to-a-9-win-debut-season-under-jake-dickert/article_aee89e9a-d2e8-589d-a9f7-5b979087015a.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-08-19 · by Aaron Beard

Quick Summary

Wake Forest football coach Jake Dickert is looking to build on his team's 9-4 debut season, which ended with a bowl win against Mississippi State. Despite expectations of finishing next-to-last in the ACC, the Demon Deacons exceeded projections and now face higher expectations for this year's season, where they are picked to finish 13th in the league. The defense returns several key players, including defensive lineman Langston Hardy, who had 7 sacks last season. The offense, however, is a concern with running back Demond Claiborne departed and quarterback Gio Lopez, a transfer from North Carolina, taking over as the new face of the team.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-19, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Wake Forest football team is looking to build on a successful 9-win debut season under coach Jake Dickert. The Demon Deacons, who were picked to finish next-to-last in the ACC last year, ended up with a bowl win against Mississippi State after going 9-4 in 2025. Coach Dickert will have to adjust his offense this year without running back Demond Claiborne, who was an NFL draft pick. Instead, the team has brought in new players such as quarterback Gio Lopez and wide receiver Antonio Meeks through transfers. The defense is expected to be a strength again, with 60 returnees from last season's team that ranked 26th in total defense (328.5 yards) and 44th in scoring (22.1). This year, Wake Forest faces a tough league slate, including a game against preseason favorite Miami on September 18.

Written for “Wake Forest Football Season” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Wake Forest Football Season
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-19 · how these are computed

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 7634 article(s) · 21 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 21 correction(s)
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Aaron Beard
20 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The ACC’s exit fee will decline each year before leveling off around $75 million per school that season, while media deals for other leagues are expiring around that time to create at least the potential for another wave of broad realignment.
🔮 And the top WNBA prospect could end up as Division I’s career steals leader along with ranking among its top 10 all-time scorers.
🔮 Nolan James Jr. did most of the work on the ground, then caught Carr’s short pass in the left flat and juked a would-be tackler off his feet to go in for a 6-yard TD and a 34-20 lead to open the fourth quarter.
🔮 Notre Dame (4-0) ranks 98th in the Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense at 141.8 yards entering the matchup with the Tar Heels (2-1), with junior Aneyas Williams and sophomore Nolan James Jr. each starting in the backfield so far this year.
🔮 But having that cohesion back didn’t eliminate rust, nor the ability to push past a tested Florida team in what could be a preview of yet another postseason reunion.
🔮 He had put it off to avoid a lengthy layoff that might interfere with the Hurricanes’ hopes as a perennial contender or the chance to represent his native Canada in the Olympics.
🔮 Still, Doeren’s squad couldn’t feel relaxed until James London’s 42-yard field goal went wide left with 45 seconds left.
🔮 Game of the week Wake Forest (2-1, 0-1 ACC) at No. 16 Louisville (2-1, 1-0), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN) The Cardinals won the battle of teams projected to be top contenders to preseason ACC favorite Miami, beating a ranked SMU team 41-31 at home last week.
🔮 Yet they proved last year they could manufacture a strong attack through sheer depth, with Carolina the only NHL team last year with seven different players having scored at least 20 goals, including top-line center Sebastian Aho, second-line center Logan Stankoven and last year’s free-agent addition Nikolaj Ehlers.
🔮 Doing so this week — after suffering one of the most stunning and improbable losses in recent memory in college football — will be a tougher challenge.
Also by Aaron Beard
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 20 articles by Aaron Beard →

Topics

ACC UNC WINSTON-SALEM Wake Forest the Demon Deacons

Subjects

Wake Forest ORG · 4× the Demon Deacons ORG · 4× Gio Lopez PERSON · 3× Lopez PERSON · 3× NFL ORG · 3× ACC ORG · 2× Claiborne PERSON · 2× Demond Claiborne PERSON · 2× Dickert PERSON · 2× Miami ORG · 2×

Narrative

New faces QB Gio Lopez (transfer from UNC), WR Antonio Meeks (transfer from Louisville), TE Landon Morris (transfer from California), LB/S Vincent Firenze (transfer from Dayton), DB Deuce Blades II (transfer from Florida International). Key losses RB Demond Claiborne (NFL draft pick), WR Sterling Berkhalter (transferred to Texas), OL Melvin Siani (transferred to Texas), DB Nick Andersen, DB Karon Prunty (NFL draft pick). Biggest games for the Demon Deacons Vs. Miami (Sept. 18), at N.C. State (Oct. 10), vs. Virginia (Oct. 31), vs. Duke (Nov. 28). ___
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-19
🔮 Last year’s offense was built around running back Demond Claiborne, but the unit will adjust with new personnel for second-year coordinator Rob Ezell.

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

Little was expected from Wake Forest for Jake Dickert’s debut season, with the Demon Deacons picked to finish next-to-last in the 17-team ACC. asserted
Deacons → expect → ACC
Instead, the former Washington State coach showed a deft touch in bringing along the roster in what became a nine-win season that ended with a bowl win against Mississippi State. asserted
that → show → State
Last year’s offense was built around running back Demond Claiborne, but the unit will adjust with new personnel for second-year coordinator Rob Ezell. asserted
unit → build → Ezell
The defense, however, has experience. asserted
defense → have → experience
Wake Forest has 60 returnees and roughly 50 new players. asserted
Forest → have → returnees
“The one thing I’ve told the team that I can’t recreate is last year’s hunger,” Dickert said. asserted
Dickert → tell → that
The Demon Deacons are picked to finish 13th in the ACC this year and face a tough league slate. asserted
Deacons → pick → slate
The headliner is a visit from preseason favorite Miami (Sept. 18), while Wake Forest plays six teams picked to finish in the top seven of the league race. asserted
Forest → play → race
Strengths start with defense Wake Forest’s defense led the way last season, with the Demon Deacons ranking 26th in the Bowl Subdivision ranks in total defense (328.5 yards) and 44th in scoring (22.1). asserted
Deacons → start → scoring
There’s enough returning talent to make that a potential strength this fall. asserted
that → ’ → ?
Defensive lineman Langston Hardy is back after tallying seven sacks while standing as one of 12 players in FBS to tally at least 17 tackles for loss. asserted
Hardy → tally → loss
And the secondary features No. 2 tackler Davaughn Patterson (80) along with seven-game starter Travon West. asserted
secondary → feature → West
“Really at the end of the season after the bowl game, we were kind of all sitting in the locker room looking at each other and realized, like, how good of a group we’re going to have coming back next year,” Hardy said. asserted
Hardy → sit → group
Weaknesses include questions about a new-look offense With Claiborne on to the NFL, the offense will run with Ezell working with North Carolina transfer quarterback Gio Lopez, who spent one season under Bill Belichick with the Tar Heels. asserted
who → include → Heels
Lopez threw for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns while also proving to be a running threat (465 yards, seven TDs) in his last season under Ezell at South Alabama. asserted
Lopez → throw → Alabama
Lopez wasn’t nearly as effective at UNC, though Dickert said Lopez’s arrival allows the coaches to “take a really big step closer to our ideal” after tailoring last year’s approach to match the skillset of Claiborne and the offensive line. asserted
coaches → say → Claiborne
“I believe in the best version of Gio Lopez, period,” he said. asserted
he → believe → Lopez
“We can recreate that.” asserted
We → recreate → that
New faces QB Gio Lopez (transfer from UNC), WR Antonio Meeks (transfer from Louisville), TE Landon Morris (transfer from California), LB/S Vincent Firenze (transfer from Dayton), DB Deuce Blades II (transfer from Florida International). Key losses RB Demond Claiborne (NFL draft pick), WR Sterling Berkhalter (transferred to Texas), OL Melvin Siani (transferred to Texas), DB Nick Andersen, DB Karon Prunty (NFL draft pick). Biggest games for the Demon Deacons Vs. Miami (Sept. 18), at N.C. State (Oct. 10), vs. Virginia (Oct. 31), vs. Duke (Nov. 28). ___ asserted
faces → transfer → Duke
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