Full Steam Ahead: Our Staff Makes Their Picks

Last week was a fun game to watch. But it was only the Akron Zips. Now, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1-0, 0-0 ACC) hit the road for a matchup on Saturday in West Lafayette, Indiana, against the Purdue Boilermakers (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten).

Gio Lopez threw for 350 yards last week and looked quite comfortable as QB1 for the Deacs. How will he do now on the road against a Power Four conference team? Sure, Purdue is not on the same scale as other Big Ten schools like Ohio State, Penn State, and Oregon. But the Boilermakers are also a better team than Akron. Purdue is coming off a Week One win at home against in-state foe Indiana State. They beat the Sycamores 44-19.

Our editorial staff has an opinion on how this game will go. Each week, our crew will make their predictions. Trust us, this will become an intense competition as the season continues. And once again, we have all picked the Deacs to win, and to win by more than a touchdown.

Our average predicted margin of victory is 8.3 points (down from last week's 22.6). We are also predicting a total of 48.3 points in the game. That works out to an average prediction of Wake Forest winning 28-20.

Sean won last year's contest, but finds himself at the bottom of the standings after Week One. Last week, Justin and Seth came the closest, each predicting a score within six points of the final score. JD (he does know ball, or at least that's what we are told) and Will were both just one point off.

Staff Leaderboard after Week One: