College Football Playoff Rankings 2019: Projected Top 25, Week 11

After barely holding on to beat Florida State in Week 9 and returning to the AP Top 25, Wake Forest had a much easier time in Winston-Salem against NC State on Saturday afternoon. The Demon Deacons racked up 418 yards of offense, and the defense held the Wolfpack to just 265 yards, as Dave Clawson’s squad improved to 7-1 and ensured the ACC will have two teams in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year.

Jamie Newman threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-38 passing, and the quarterback added a pair of rushing touchdowns to account for all five Wake Forest touchdowns. Nick Sciba was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, all three inside of 35 yards, showing that the Demon Deacons squandered opportunities to put even more points on the scoreboard. Given the final result, that says a ton about their quality this year.

Next week Wake Forest heads to Lane Stadium for a showdown against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The Demon Deacons remain on the road the following weekend for a de facto division title game against Clemson, then return home for their Tobacco Road battle with Duke before closing at Syracuse. If they win out, Wake Forest could pip Clemson for the ACC Atlantic crown.