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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Wake Forest is humming right now under second-year head coach Jake Dickert.
He's got the Demon Deacons sitting at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in ACC play, with remaining games at SMU, at Georgia Tech, and at home against Duke to close out the regular season.
They moved to No. 13 overall in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, only a few spots behind Miami at No. 7, with the two conference opponents on a collision course for the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5. The Hurricanes beat Wake Forest earlier in the season 33-20 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but both teams already look much different than they did two months ago.
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In two years leading the Demon Deacons, Dickert is now 17-5 as head coach, after previously rebuilding Washington State and going 23-20 across four seasons with the Cougars. With how quickly he's turned Wake Forest into a CFP contender, his name has been floated as a potential replacement for Mike Norvell at Florida State, who was fired on Nov. 1 after seven seasons with the Seminoles.
Turns out, Dickert's not going anywhere. Wake Forest officially announced they had hired him to a long-term extension on Thursday.
According to a recent report from FOX Sports' Ben Portnoy, Dickert had been working on an extension to remain the head coach at Wake Forest for some time. Portnoy noted how after a lengthy conversation with Dickert, "extension discussions are ongoing," and precise details are expected to "be finalized in the coming weeks." That report was published on Wednesday.
"They know exactly where I sit," Dickert told Portnoy when asked about the discussions. "I want to be here. I want to be here with these coaches and these players. To me, they're the priority, not me. Once that's done, we're good.
"We didn't come here to leave," Dickert added. "I say that really honestly and truthfully ... There's this lane that we can be really successful in. I just say we can't be sputtering in this lane. We can't be walking in this lane. We have to be sprinting in this lane, and I believe we can do that — and I believe with the expanded playoffs, there can be a lot of opportunity here."
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Being in the ACC, there's a real path for Wake Forest to continue this success into 2027. Miami will always be a threat for as long as Mario Cristobal is at the helm, but there are a lot of unknowns around the rest of the conference.
Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers are no longer the powerhouse program they once were. The momentum around Georgia Tech has faded after their breakout 2025 season under Brent Key. Virginia Tech is still rebuilding under James Franklin. Bill Belichick's future at North Carolina remains unknown.
NC State is entering a new phase under Philip Rivers, Bill O'Brien remains on the hot seat at Boston College, and Duke could be without a head coach after this season, with all the rumors surrounding Manny Diaz. Add in an expanded 24-team CFP, and there's a window here for Wake Forest to be a real force beyond this season, especially with Dickert now locked up to a long-term deal.
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