It's finally here! After months of anticipation, the day has finally arrived! No, it's not Christmas morning, but it might as well be! After 244 days, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football squad returns to the gridiron.This is Year Two of the Jake Dickert era in Winston-Salem. After last year's 9-4 season, which culminated in a win over Mississippi State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, the expectations are high for the Deacs. Can they continue the momentum that Dickert and crew brought to the team last year?To start the season, they host the Akron Zips at Allegacy Financial Stadium tonight. Kickoff is set for 7 pm ET. Last year, the Deacs hosted Kennesaw State on opening night and struggled to pull off a 10-9 victory. At the ACC Kickoff in July, Dickert emphasized that this year's team must start strong. According to him, much of what the team will look like later in the season needs to show up tonight.Our editorial staff is ready for the season to begin. Each week, our crew will make their predictions. Trust us, this will become an intense competition as the season continues. For now, we are just at the starting gate. And we all have picked the Deacs to win, and to win decisively. The one that gets the early lead will be the one who comes closest on the final score.Not only did we unanimously pick Wake, but we also picked them by a wide margin. Our average predicted margin of victory is 22.6 points. We are also predicting a total of 44.2 points in the game. That works out to an average prediction of Wake Forest winning 33-11. Sean is our reigning champion. Can he repeat this year? Will one of our new writers who was not on our team last season break through in their rookie season? Or will we all be beholden to JD, who will claim he knows more ball than the rest of us (spoiler alert: he doesn't!).Oct 11, 2025; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers running back Anthony Hankerson (0) is tackled after a run by Wake Forest Demon Deacons linebacker Langston Hardy (11) during the second half at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectStaff Predictions - Wake Forest vs. AkronAlex Gendron - Wake Forest 27-13Andrew Bauhs - Wake Forest 31-12Barry Lewis - Wake Forest 34-10Brandon Oakes - Wake Forest 34-10JD Andress - Wake Forest 34-13Justin Kontul - Wake Forest 38-10Keylor Piers - Wake Forest 38-6Sean Kennedy - Wake Forest 28-9Seth Dowdle - Wake Forest 38-10Will Kunisaki - Wake Forest 37-10Do you agree with our picks? Let us know what you think the final score will be. What's Next?The game will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on September 3. It will be played at Allegacy Financial Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC. You can watch it on The ACC Network. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow