Ole Miss Schedule Preview: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The Ole Miss Rebels will hit the road for the first time in the 2024 season with their Week 3 trip to Winston-Salem.

Nov 25, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons wide receiver Taylor Morin (2) catches the ball against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports / Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 college football season is still about a month away, but with SEC Media Days in the rearview mirror, now is the time to begin previewing the Ole Miss Rebels' schedule.

Ole Miss is coming off an 11-2 season that saw it capture a Peach Bowl victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in December. The Rebels return a plethora of talent from last year's team (including quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris, tight end Caden Prieskron and others), but they also made a huge haul in the transfer portal to shore up some holes on its roster.

It's this combination of talent and a seemingly-managble SEC schedule that have many believing the Rebels can qualify for the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

Over the next few days, Ole Miss OnSI will preview each of the Rebels' 2024 regular season opponents. We last looked at the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, and today, we analyze the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The 10th season of Dave Clawson's tenure at Wake Forest was not a stellar one as the Demon Deacons finished with a 4-8 record and missed the postseason for the first time since 2015. The team from Winston-Salem did start out with a 3-0 record, but its lone remaining win would come on Oct. 21 at home against Pittsburgh.

Wake looks to have a new quarterback under center this season in Louisiana Tech transfer Hank Bachmeier, although Michael Kern also returns after appearing in four games in 2023. The signal caller with the most experience from last year was Mitch Griffis who transferred to Marshall following the campaign.

If Bachmeier is the guy for the Deacons, he brings five years of college experience to the table. He suited up for Boise State from 2019-22 before spending last season in Ruston with the Bulldogs.

Wake returns its leading rusher from a season ago in Demond Claiborne (586 yards, five touchdowns) and second-leading receiver Taylor Morin (617 yards, two touchdowns), but its top passing target in Jahmal Banks transferred to Nebraska over the offseason. As a team, the Deacons averaged 20.25 points per game last season, and that number will have to improve if they hope to reach a bowl game this winter.

Some good news on the returning production front, however, comes in the form of linebacker Dylan Hazen who led the team in tackles with 86 last season alongside a sack and 8.5 TFLs. The Demon Deacons ranked 74th in team defense in 2023, so the Rebels offense should provide a stiff challenge to a unit that has been pedestrian in recent memory.

Wake Forest is given a win total of 4.5 this season according to FanDuel, so hopes are not particularly high in 2024. On paper, this should be a game that Ole Miss can handle, but playing on the road throws in a different variable that can always make things interesting.

This game will kick off at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sept. 14 and will be televised on The CW.