BSD Staff Predictions: N.C. State

Wake Forest puts their 4-0 record on the line as they head to Raleigh for a chance to be only the third team in Demon Deacon football history to start off 5-0. While Vegas believes that the game will be decided by over a possession (State still favored by around 10 this morning), what does the much-revered and quite often wrong about predictions staff at Blogger So Dear believe will happen? Up to this point most of the team has picked against Wake and the Deacs have just kept winning. Let’s take a look:

Chris: As a staff our reverse jinxes have been quite effective the past couple weeks so I'm going to go State wins 21-17.

Grumpy: If we're allowed to just give the score: 31-17 State. Big time reverse jinxing.

(Editor’s Note: when I sent the predictions out, I just included the score in mine which I believe resulted in a few short predictions to start off - I’ll do better. As a sign of friendship, here’s a dancing State fan with his shirt off:)

Adam: I think State wins it 24-13. The Deacs are playing well this season, but we hardly ever show up in Raleigh. Hopefully the reverse jinx gets the Deacs win #5

Rob: State wins 24-10

I've picked against Wake in both road games this year, and fortunately I've been incorrect both times. Enter NC State, who comes into this game off a BYE (it seems like EVERYONE does), and is a double-digit favorite in Carter-Finley, where our beloved Demon Deacons haven't won since 2006. State has a very good rushing attack, but they will have to contend with Wake's stout rush defense. State also has a stout front seven, but its secondary leaves a decent amount to be desired. That sounds awfully familiar. Still, I think this is a game that State absolutely has to win if they want a bowl, and they have the advantage in terms of rest and athleticism. Hopefully I'm wrong for the 3rd time this year and OUR DEACS move to 5-0.

Samurai: State 24-17.

Reverse jinx in full effect. Really, I feel exactly how Rob does. I still think we have a greater than 80% chance of making a bowl, but it's hard for me not to think we'll finally drop one here. If we don't, I'll start literally thinking I'm dreaming. If we didn't have Clemson and "Video Game Scores" Louisville to contend with in our division I'd start pondering even the vague possibility of an ACC title run at 5-0. Sidenote, it's comical how unbalanced the divisions are. FSU, Clemson, and L'Ville all competing for the same berth? Yikes.

Ned: It's time to start believing. Wake's D gives NC State a handful of problems and the Deacs' run heavy attack prevents turnovers and dictates the pace once again. A big FG by Mike "cold blooded" Weaver in the closing minutes of the game leads Wake to its first victory in Raleigh since 2006. 30-28 WF

Jake: State wins 34-24. Like most of the rest of the staff, I'll hope my road game predictions continue to absolutely suck. However, NC State is a much different atmosphere than Duke or Indiana and if things get off to a bad start this time it could snowball quickly. I'm not sure Wake can score enough to keep up with State's offensive weapons without another huge turnover margin win. Here's to hoping for the 2nd win in Raleigh over the last 30 years.

Bart: I really want to pick Wake to win this game. There’s something about this team and the way they’ve battled through the first third of the season to get to 4-0 that makes me think there’s something special going on here. While the division and conference landscape is far different from where it was in 2006 (namely there are three top 15 teams in our division), the parallels between this team and the 2006 squad continue to grow: early season injuries at key positions, a tenacious bend-don’t-break defense that creates turnovers at opportune times, an offensive line that gets enough push up front to support a consistent run game, two road wins in the first four games, a 4-0 start, and a shot at 5-0 in addition to a win on the road at Carter-Finley for only the second time in the last three decades as Jake pointed out.

Unfortunately, I believe N.C. State is slightly better and is going to come out fired up about this one. There may be a bit of a slow start if State isn’t 100% ready to get conference play underway and maybe Wake can smack them in the mouth early on and hold on for a second conference road win. All that said, I like State 27-20 in a very close game that is within a possession for the bulk of the time. As almost everyone else has said, I really hope I’m wrong and here is to the full effect of the #reversejinx.

Average BSD Score: State 27-16

Hopefully the BSD staff continues to be wrong on these predictions and Wake’s performance in road games. If you have predictions on today’s game, let us know below. And if you have any general comments, questions, or concerns you know what to do: hit us up in the comments or shoot us an email. And as always, go Deacs!