Oct 17, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive linemen Camden Hardy (9) and Cade Holles (93) celebrate stopping the California Golden Bears on downs during the fourth quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Deacs Move Up in AP Top 25

Originally posted on Wake Forest Demon Deacons on SI
By Barry Lewis | Last updated Oct 18, 2026 7:43 PM ET

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If you couldn't stay awake for the ACC After Dark matchup between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-1, 4-1 ACC) and the California Golden Bears (3-4, 2-2 ACC), you missed another dominant performance by the Deacs.

Wake Forest scored on its first possession and never looked back, beating the Bears 41-7 in the early hours of Sunday morning back home. With chaos unfolding across the college football landscape on Saturday, the Deacs had a chance to make a significant move in the latest AP Top 25 poll.

The Deacs made their move. Wake Forest climbed four spots from No. 21 to No. 17 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Just as impressive is who's now behind them: three SEC teams that occupied Top 10 spots in recent weeks — No. 18 LSU, No. 19 Texas, and No. 20 Florida.

Not a single team stayed put in this week’s AP Top 25.

Miami is No. 1 for the first time since 2002 and BYU climbs to No. 2 after a historic weekend of upsets. See where your team landed: https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j pic.twitter.com/kIqcyb3Ewk
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 18, 2026

The Deacs' only loss of the season came to the Miami Hurricanes, which, thanks to a double-overtime win over Florida State, now sits at No. 1 in the AP Top 15. The only other ACC team in the rankings is SMU at No. 23. Wake Forest travels to Dallas to take on the Mustangs on November 14. That game could potentially play a huge role in determining at least one of the teams to make it to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game in December.

Wake Forest AP Top 25 History

Last week when the Deacs were ranked, it marked their first AP Top 25 ranking in nearly four years. Wake Forest was last ranked on October 30, 2022, when it ranked No. 20 after losing to Louisville 48-21.

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The Deacs started the 2022 season with a preseason ranking of No. 22. They had been inching up over the first two months of the season. The week before that Louisville game, the Deacs beat Boston College to advance to 6-1 and were ranked No. 10.

That No. 10 ranking was the highest rank the Deacs have ever reached. They have been ranked No. 10 twice. In addition to Week 8 2022, they also reached the Top Ten the year before, in Week 9 2021.

Here's some additional AP Top 25 trivia as it pertains to Wake Forest:

- The Deacs have been ranked in 17 different seasons (of the 91 seasons there has been an AP Top 25)
- The Deacs have been ranked now a total of 71 weeks
- Wake Forest has appeared in the final rankings of a season five times, with the last one coming in 2021 after beating Rutgers in the Gator Bowl

What's Next for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons?

Wake Forest has a bye this week. The Deacs' next game will be on Saturday, October 31 when they host Virginia at Allegacy Financial Stadium in Winston-Salem. Kickoff time for that game should be announced early this week.

This article first appeared on Wake Forest Demon Deacons on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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