Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - 2006 SEASON IN REVIEW: What a season for Jim Grobe and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Demon Deacs made a lasting impression on the national level, as they won a school-record 11 games, captured their first ACC title since 1970 and played in a BCS Bowl game. The team got a full head of steam early on by opening the season with five straight victories. Wake's first loss came on October 7th against Clemson (27-17), but did little to ebb the tide of momentum, as the Demon Deacons went on to win four more in a row, including a 21-14 win over Boston College and a magical 30-0 shutout of Florida State in Tallahassee. The huge win was followed by a disappointing loss against Virginia Tech (27-6), but the Demon Deacons closed out the regular season and Atlantic Division title with a 38-24 win at Maryland. The team was rewarded with a spot in the ACC title game, topping Georgia Tech, 9-6. The Orange Bowl didn't go the way Grobe and company would have liked, a 24-13 loss to Louisville, but a magical season has hopes running rampant in Winston-Salem.

2007 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: The Demon Deacons did it with smoke and mirrors on the offensive side of the ball last season, as both their starting QB and RB went down with injuries. Instead of Ben Mauk running things under center, Grobe looked to freshman Riley Skinner to lead the team and he did just that, completing 65.8 percent of his passes, for 2,051 yards and nine TDs, earning All-ACC Second- Team honors. Running the football is the name of the game in Winston-Salem and although last year saw the team take a step back in that area, the 149.9 yards per game on the ground still had to be respected. The team returns its top six rushers from 2006, but it will be senior Micah Andrews (5-10, 212) who gets the lion's share of the work. He got off to a fast start in 2006, before going down to a knee injury after week three and was lost for the season. The team's leading rusher in 2006 was Kenneth Moore (507 yards), but Moore served in that capacity due to injuries to several RBs and will move back to wideout in 2007. He is the top returning receiver on the squad this year (32 receptions). The offensive line returns four of last year's five starters, but will miss veteran tackle Steve Vallos.

DEFENSE: The Wake defense had its ups and downs in 2006, but for the most part, the unit did what was necessary to win games. At times, the unit looked downright dominant, but only five starters are back from that group. The team allowed a mere 15.4 ppg in 2006, but producing at that level may not be realistic this time around. The linebacking corps returns a pair of playmakers in juniors Aaron Curry (top returning tackler with 83 tackles, three sacks in 2006) and Stanley Arnoux (69 tackles, seven TFLs), but must replace star LB Jon Abbate (120 tackles in 2006). The defensive line must find a way to replace sack-leader Jyles Tucker (six sacks in 2006), with the likely candidates being senior end Jeremy Thompson and junior end Anthony Davis. The secondary is where the most upheaval will be, with three of last year's four starters gone, including standout DBs Josh Gattis (five INTs) and Patrick Ghee (three INTs). Junior CB Kevin Patterson (two INTs) does return and a lot is expected of fellow junior Alphonso Smith (48 tackles, four sacks, three INTs last season).

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Wake Forest kicking game is once again in fine shape. Junior Sam Swank holds down both positions, as the team's placekicker and punter. He excelled in both areas in 2006, earning All-ACC First-Team and All- American First-Team honors. Swank was 23-of-31 in field goal attempts in 2006, with an amazing five 50+ field goals to his credit. He was both a Lou Groza and Ray Guy Award semifinalist last season and is certainly regarded as one of the top kickers in the country in 2007.

OUTLOOK: A lot of things went right for the Demon Deacons in 2006 and the result was a magical season culminating in a conference crown and BCS Bowl bid. Repeating is not a realistic goal for this team. Wake's non-conference slate consists of Nebraska, Vanderbilt, Army and Navy. In ACC play, the Demon Deacons luck out and avoid playing Virginia Tech and Miami-Florida, but that in and of itself will not be enough to propel this team to the top of the Atlantic Division in 2007. The conference slate may look inviting on the surface, but Wake will sneak up on no one this season. In the end, look for Grobe's troops to take a hit in the win column, but not enough to be on the outside of the postseason looking in.