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2025 Wake Forest

9–⁠4 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Jake Dickert.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 2025, game by game: won vs. Kennesaw State 10–9; won vs. Western Carolina 42–10; lost vs. NC State 24–34; lost vs. No. 16 Georgia Tech 29–30; won at Virginia Tech 30–23; won at Oregon State 39–14; won vs. SMU 13–12; lost at Florida State 7–42; won at No. 12 Virginia 16–9; won vs. North Carolina 28–12; won vs. Delaware 52–14; lost at Duke 32–49; won vs. Mississippi State 43–29+38−35Won 10–9 vs. Kennesaw State+1Kennesaw StateWon 42–10 vs. Western Carolina+32Western CarolinaLost 24–34 vs. NC State-10NC StateLost 29–30 vs. No. 16 Georgia Tech-1No. 16 Georgia TechWon 30–23 at Virginia Tech+7Virginia TechWon 39–14 at Oregon State+25Oregon StateWon 13–12 vs. SMU+1SMULost 7–42 at Florida State-35Florida StateWon 16–9 at No. 12 Virginia+7No. 12 VirginiaWon 28–12 vs. North Carolina+16North CarolinaWon 52–14 vs. Delaware+38DelawareLost 32–49 at Duke-17DukeWon 43–29 vs. Mississippi State+14Mississippi Sta…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsKennesaw StateW 10–⁠976%
Sep 6vsWestern CarolinaW 42–⁠1073%
Sep 11vsNC StateL 24–⁠3448%
Sep 27vs16Georgia TechL 29–⁠3037%
Oct 4atVirginia TechW 30–⁠2338%
Oct 11atOregon StateW 39–⁠1454%
Oct 25vsSMUW 13–⁠1234%
Nov 1atFlorida StateL 7–⁠4249%
Nov 8at12VirginiaW 16–⁠926%
Nov 15vsNorth CarolinaW 28–⁠1260%
Nov 22vsDelawareW 52–⁠1474%
Nov 29atDukeL 32–⁠4937%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsMississippi StateDuke’s Mayo BowlW 43–⁠2961%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Mississippi State 43–⁠29 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 8th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
365–⁠287
Coach
Jake Dickert
Elo
1540 +96 this season
SP+ rating
5.7 No. 52 of 136; offense No. 70, defense No. 34, special teams No. 74
SRS
4.2 No. 51 of 136 in FBS
Returning
26% of last season’s EPA, No. 80 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 63 roster talent No. 74 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rob Ezell
Defensive coordinator
Scottie Hazelton
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense71st of 136
  • Defense20th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted82nd of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted17th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0938%1.4271st of 136
Defense-0.0236%1.1820th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
-0.03 def		38% off
35% def		—82nd off
17th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense38%7.8 yds14%3.0015%
Defense35%7.4 yds13%2.7022%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.2own 3116% allowed
Defense3.2own 3118% caused

CORE rating 5.3, 48th of 136 (offense -8.2, defense -13.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsRobby Ashford QB2,472 yds
Passing touchdownsRobby Ashford QB12 TD
Rushing yardsDemond Claiborne RB905 yds
Rushing touchdownsDemond Claiborne RB10 TD
Receiving yardsCarlos Hernandez WR611 yds
Receiving touchdownsCarlos Hernandez WR3 TD
TacklesNick Andersen DB107 tkl
SacksLangston Hardy DL6.5 sacks
InterceptionsDallas Afalava DL1 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Elijiah Oehlke QB★★★No. 665
Will Saba OL★★★No. 880
Kadear Dembele DL★★★No. 987
Jaishaun Offutt OL★★★No. 1014
Trishstin Glass WR★★★No. 1092

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.866
Running backs13.00.852
Receivers53.00.859
Offensive line53.00.858
Defensive line33.00.855
Linebackers23.00.849
Defensive backs53.00.853
Whole class233.00.857

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 5Karon Prunty CBNew England Patriots
Rd 6Demond Claiborne RBMinnesota Vikings

Roster 121

The 2025 roster

121 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 33

The 2025 portal
Fa’alili Fa’amoe OT★★★★from Washington State
Ashaad Williams CB★★★from North Alabama
Carlos Hernandez WR★★★from Washington State
Brandon Smiley DL★★★from Elon
Deshawn Purdie QB★★★from Charlotte
Devin Kylany OL★★★from Washington State
Harry Lodge TE★★★from Georgia Tech
Ja’Marion Kennedy OL★★★from Louisiana Tech
Jayden Loving DL★★★from Western Kentucky
Kamrean Johnson TE★★★from Vanderbilt
Chevy Brenson WR★★★from Tennessee State
Karon Prunty CB★★★from North Carolina A&T

And 21 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 27

Horatio Fields WR★★★★to Auburn
Luke Petitbon OL★★★★to Florida State
Deuce Alexander WR★★★★to Ole Miss
Jamare Glasker CB★★★to Maryland
Keagen Trost OT★★★to Missouri
Donavon Greene WR★★★to Virginia Tech
Jacob Dennison OT★★★no new school on file
Jeremy Hecklinski QB★★★to Iowa
Luca Puccinelli TE★★★to Purdue
Matt Gulbin OL★★★to Michigan State
A.J. Hasson OL★★★to UC Davis
Bailey Benson LB★★★to NC State

And 15 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia7–⁠211–⁠316
Miami6–⁠213–⁠32
SMU6–⁠29–⁠4
Georgia Tech6–⁠29–⁠4
Duke6–⁠29–⁠5
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
NC State5–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest4–⁠49–⁠4
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠47–⁠6
Stanford3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida State2–⁠65–⁠7
North Carolina2–⁠64–⁠8
Virginia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.