Wake Forest, the smallest school in the Power Five, had one of its biggest seasons to date in 2021. The Demon Deacons cracked the AP Top 10 for the first time in program history and reached the ACC Championship for the first time since 2006.

Everything clicked—offensively, at least—in the eighth season of head coach Dave Clawson's tenure. Wake started the year 8-0 but alternated wins and losses the rest of the way, finishing 11-3 with a 38-10 win over Rutgers, which was replacing Texas A&M, in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

The Deacons lost the ACC title game to Pittsburgh, as they gave up at least 40 points for the fifth time in the span of seven games. Wake was carried last season by a juggernaut offense. That offense is back and better than ever, as the Deacons rank 14th nationally in points per game (41.2 per game).

Quarterback Sam Hartman missed the opener with a non-football-related medical condition but has looked spectacular in the five games since. Plus, Wake has improved on the other side of the ball, allowing 29.1 fewer yards and 3.4 fewer points per game than it did last season.

If it wasn't for a 51-45, double overtime loss to No. 5 Clemson, the Deacons would be back in the AP Top 10. Still, they're not far off from that status.

Saturday, Oct. 22, 3:30 p.m.

Truist Field, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Road field advantage? It's kind of a thing in this series. The road team has won each of the last seven meetings. Overall, Boston College holds a 14-12-2 lead over the Deacons. But Wake has won two straight, dating back to 2019 (the teams didn't play during the COVID-19-affected 2020 campaign). Last year, the Deacons blew out the Eagles, 41-10. It was the largest margin of victory for Wake in the series. The odds were stacked against BC, though. In the week leading up to the regular season finale, the injury-riddled Eagles had 32 players contract the flu, including quarterback Phil Jurkovec. BC entered intermission trailing, 24-10. Its best chance to get back in the game was when star wideout Zay Flowers reversed for a highlight-reel, 73-yard touchdown at the start of the second quarter. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the touchdown was nullified because of a bad blind side block call on Jurkovec.

Generally, however, these have been close games. Five of the last seven have been decided by one score.

Wake Forest's Record: 5-1 (1-1 ACC)

Offense: Wake's slow-mesh offense has been raising eyebrows for years. It's the second year BC head coach Jeff Hafley has prepared for it, and Hafley conceded this week that no one is defending it very well right now.

"On your first watch of it, it looks like they do so much, but they don't," Hafley said. "What they do is, they do a good job of mixing things up and making it look different. But, schematically, they're so efficient at what they do. And it's very impressive."

It's an RPO-heavy offense that sees Hartman ride his running backs while making a handful of reads. Not only is he looking at coverages, but he's also watching the edge defender to decide whether to pull the ball or hand it off. That's why Hafley believes the Deacons' offensive line is what makes the unit go. It's a veteran group that returned four starters this offseason. Right tackle DeVonte Gordon has proven to be Wake's best pass blocker this year. He's given up a mere seven pressures in 230 pass blocking snaps in 2022, per Pro Football Focus. Gordon and Co. are fueling a Deacons offense that is eighth in the ACC in rushing (147.7 yards per game) and third in the ACC in passing (292.8 yards per game).

Hartman is posting a 16:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio right now. He's completing 64.7% of his passes, and he isn't just dinking and dunking, either. The redshirt junior leads the conference in average depth of target (12.8 yards). Plus, he's completed 13 passes of 30 or more yards this season, which is tied for 15th in the country. He's got five wideouts with at least 15 catches. The 6-foot-5 AT Perry (29 receptions, 482 receiving yards, four TDs) headlines what Hafley believes is the deepest wide receivers corps the Eagles have faced this season. But Jahmal Banks (20 receptions, 306 receiving yards, five TDs) and Donavon Greene (18 receptions, 296 receiving yards, three TDs) have come on strong this year, too.

Wake is still operating with a committee in the backfield. The 5-foot-10, 208-pound Justice Ellison leads the way with 396 rushing yards on 81 attempts. Christian Turner, however, has found the end zone twice more than Ellison—he has five rushing touchdowns this season. And then Quinton Cooley is averaging a team-high 5.5 yards per carry.

Defense: Every team has tried and succeeded at pressuring BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec this season, and there's no reason why Wake defensive coordinator Brad Lambert won't follow the same blueprint. After all, while the Deacons aren't necessarily a pressure team, they have been able to generate a good amount of it this season, especially from the interior. Redshirt senior defensive tackles Kobie Turner and Tyler Williams have logged a combined 30 pressures this season. Edge rusher Rondell Bothroyd is the Deacons' top defensive end, yet again. Bothroyd is tied with sophomore EDGE Kendron Wayman for the most sacks on the team (three).

Wake also uses safety Malik Mustapha on blitz packages. Like Turner, Mustapha is a transfer from Richmond, and he's really turned it on in 2022. Through six games, he's second on the team in tackles (35) and TFLs (4.5) and third in sacks (2.5). The Deacons have been pretty banged up in the back end, though. Their best corner, Caelen Carson, has missed the last three games, and his status is up in the air for Saturday's matchup.

What's more, Wake's CB2 and CB3, Gavin Holmes and JJ Roberts, both missed the Army game. But, thanks to the off week, those two have a solid chance to play against BC. Redshirt senior cornerback Isaiah Wingfield has been targeted the most of any Demon Deacon this season, but he's held his own. Although Wingfield has allowed a 67.6% reception percentage, according to PFF, he's giving up just 12 yards per catch, and he's got three PBUs and a pick to go along with a 70.5 PFF coverage grade.

The linebacker to know for Wake is Ryan Smenda Jr. The senior from Orange Park, Florida, epitomizes what it means to bring more than one hat to the ball. He's got 36 assisted tackles this season, and he leads the team with 50 total tackles this season.

Special Teams: Wake's place kicker is doing a good job of filling the massive shoes left by Nate Sciba, who holds the NCAA record for consecutive field goals made (34) and career field goal percentage (89.9%). Redshirt freshman Matthew Dennis is 10-of-11 this year with a long of 46 yards. He's a perfect 9-of-9 inside 40, and he is 29-of-29 on PATs. In the punting game, though, Ivan Mora hasn't been the same since suffering a leg injury in last year's Gator Bowl. He's averaging 3.9 fewer yards per punt in 2022 and ranks 13th in the ACC in punt average (40.0 yards). Mora has only one 50-plus-yard punt this year but has placed eight inside the 20.

Wake has some talent in the return game, courtesy of its slot receivers. Ke'Shawn Williams is fifth in the ACC in kick return average (24.6 yards), and Taylor Morin is fifth in the league in punt return average (7.7 yards).

8 — Wake's turnover margin this season, which is tied for seventh nationally. Clawson's team has committed just three giveaways.

38.38% — opponents' third-down conversion percentage against the Deacons this season. That puts them 69th in the FBS in that defensive category

7.9% — the PFF big-time throw percentage Hartman has registered this season, third highest in the ACC.

The database gives Wake Forest a 90.3% chance of beating BC in Week 8.

This game is a matchup nightmare for the injury-riddled Eagles. With a slow start, BC could be facing a blitzing like the one it experienced at Florida State earlier this season. While the Eagles' defense can play with the best of the ACC, it can only do so much when BC isn't producing on the other side of the ball.

Down three Week 1 starters on the offensive line, BC will have its hands full with a disruptive Wake D-Line. The Eagles' best bet is trying to establish a ground game early, control the clock and take shots when they can. Defensively, they must force turnovers against a Wake team that hasn't given the ball away much this season.

It's an uphill battle. For what it's worth, the road team has had the advantage in this series of late, and BC-Wake often comes with some craziness.