Can Wake Forest football really win the ACC title in 2021?

Starting out 5-0 is great, but you know what’s even greater? Three of those wins being conference opponents. You know what makes that even greater? Being Wake Forest football.

If last year someone had told you that the Wake Forest Demon Deacons would be the only unbeaten team in the Atlantic Coast Conference almost halfway through the regular-season stretch, you would have most likely called the police. However, that is exactly what has happened.

After their 37-34 escape from the Louisville Cardinals, the Deacs now sit with a devilishly handsome record of 5-0 overall, while holding a 3-0 record in the ACC. Meanwhile, some fellow Atlantic Coast powers are certainly wishing for better days.

To list some examples, Clemson is 3-2, North Carolina is 3-2, Miami is 2-3, and Florida State is a frightening 1-4. Ouch.

However, all of these ACC failures getting out of Wake’s way has conjured a plausible quest for them: to win their first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 15 years, and only their third in the league’s 68-year-long history.

In a literal sense, Wake Forest does, in fact, control their own destiny when it comes to completing such a goal; they are currently one of only two teams in their division with an unbeaten conference record (the other is NC State, who only sits at a measly 1-0). All they have to do is keep winning.

But unfortunately, that is much easier said than done, especially when a team dwells at Wake’s level of historically inferior talent/quality of play. Yet how can someone look at what’s left of Wake’s schedule and, knowing all of what we know about their remaining conference opponents, not see it as manageable?

In order, the Demon Deacons have to visit Syracuse, host Duke, then host NC State, and go to Clemson, all before tying a bow on the slate with another road trip — this time being to Boston College (let the record show that the away game in Chapel Hill against UNC will not count as a conference matchup for either participant).

Of those league foes, the ones with the best records right now are Boston College and the Wolfpack, who both sit at 4-1. However, none of those four BC wins hold virtually any merit, and NC State just had to skate by Louisiana Tech. If those two pose no threats, then who does?

In other words, the Atlantic division should be Wake’s for the taking, so let’s assume they make the ACC title game. Who could they face?

In the Coastal division, no one currently has a conference record better than 1-0, but three of the seven powers already have two conference losses (UNC, Virginia, Georgia Tech). With that said, the Coastal certainly looks no better than the Atlantic in regards to league play at the moment.

As of right now, the most promising team from that half of the ACC is Pittsburgh, who is one of the 1-0 teams, with an overall record of 4-1. But what was that one loss, you ask? At home… to Western Michigan.

There truly isn’t any need for an explanation beyond this point; until further notice, Wake Forest is the best team in the ACC, plain and simple. There is no fact-based argument that can depict otherwise. And when looking at their upcoming games, there should be no reason to believe that such a notion will change anytime soon, either.