Duke @ Wake Forest preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 24, 2018 ) Wake Forest 59, Duke 7

The Big Four championship will be on the line Saturday when Wake Forest welcomes Duke for an ACC battle. The Demon Deacons can complete a sweep of their three main instate rivals and capture their first Big Four title since 2007 by beating the Blue Devils.

Wake Forest's season has gone off the rails a bit thanks to being blown out in its last two games, including 52-3 at No. 3 Clemson last week, but coach Dave Clawson sees plenty left for the Demon Deacons to accomplish. "It is an opportunity to be undefeated in the Big Four," he told the media referencing prior wins over North Carolina and North Carolina State. "It is also Senior Day. This group has a chance to leave as the most successful senior class in the history of Wake Forest football. These guys deserve a send off." To get it, they will have to play much better than they did last week when they totaled 105 yards of offense and surrendered 516 yards to Clemson. The Blue Devils have dropped four straight games, including lopsided defeats to No. 15 Notre Dame and Syracuse, but they would love nothing more than to win their fifth straight game at BB&T Field, where the Demon Deacons are 5-1 this season and will be celebrating their 300th game in a stadium that opened in 1968.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Wake Forest -7

ABOUT DUKE (4-6, 2-4 ACC): Quentin Harris will be out to end his senior season in stellar fashion after enduring six tough games as passer and runner. The senior from Wilton, Conn., has four touchdown passes against eight interceptions and hasn't eclipsed 39 yards on the ground over that span, including 32 rushes for five yards in the last three games thanks to 10 sacks. If the Blue Devils can keep it close, ACC Specialist of the Week AJ Reed, the sixth player in Duke history to make multiple field goals of 50 yards or longer in a season, has shown the ability to make big kicks, including a career-best 51-yarder last week against Syracuse.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (7-3, 3-3): Coming off a game in which he threw for 41 yards and two interceptions, Jamie Newman will look to get back on track against a team he had his way with last season. The junior, who has thrown six interceptions in the last four games and nine in the past seven, diced up the Blue Devils by completing 23-of-27 passes for 177 yards and four touchdowns last season. With 1,000-yard receiver Sage Surratt lost to injury against Virginia Tech, Newman will have to rely on Kendall Hinton and Scotty Washington, who together have 88 receptions for 1,283 yards and eight scores for the Demon Deacons.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Demon Deacons enjoyed their most lopsided win in the history of the series, which Duke leads 58-39-2, with a 59-7 beating of Duke last season.

2. Wake Forest P Dom Maggio set a ACC record with a 57.7 yard punting average against Clemson, bringing his season number to 47.7 yards.

3. Duke needs to win this week and next week at home against Miami to get to 6-6 and become bowl eligible for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.

PREDICTION: Wake Forest 37, Duke 34