A rivalry was established between Duke and Wake Forest several years ago when the ACC made sure they would meet every season. At the time, Wake Forest had seen a resurgence in their program that would in time lead them to an ACC Championship under Jim Grobe.

Since that time, Duke has used their own blueprint to success.  While there is no ACC Championship to boast about, there are four consecutive bowl games.  That, along with some sweet changes  to facilities taking place on Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium have made for a momentum swing of late in the Blue Devils favor.

It tickles me how so many people judge teams off a single game. Take last weeks Wake win over Tulane by a 7-3 score.  Many are saying, this means Wake cannot score ignoring the fact that the Green Wave had an all new staff which makes it hard to prepare.  Yes, the Demon Deacons struggled on offense but not on defense and that is their bread and butter.

Remember how good Clemson was a year ago? Well, Wake held their offense down, not to mention a heart breaking  one point loss to Louisville and the list goes on.  Well, folks -- they have the same defense minus one player.  In their last three games a season ago, they held good offensive teams in Clemson to 33, Notre Dame to 28 and Louisville to 20.

On the other side of the ball, Duke will see if  barely 19-year-old quarterback in actually Daniel Jones  is ready for prime time.  A week ago in the easy win over NCCU he looked the part, but this time he must play a whole game and not a half.

The Deacs are tough up front and that will test the Duke running game which is a key ingredient to team success.  The Blue Devils offensive front faces their first true test against a team that just doesn't allow many opportunities for scores.

Duke may actually fare better with their own defense in this game, and that means special teams could play a role as well.  The muffed ball on a kick last week was one too many according to Duke Coach David Cutcliffe.  He also bristled when he spoke to the muffed punt return by Ryan Smith.  Those kind of turnovers will not float in this game if Duke is to come out on top.

One thing to look for are play makers making the big play in this game. In talking to DeVon Edwards this week, he admitted to Jonesing a bit when he does not break for a nice return or haul in an interception in a game. Duke needs something to happen in their favor and not turn the ball over more than their opponent in a game that could be low scoring.

What we are likely to see is a defensive game where field position plays a big role.  Duke will hope to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals in the red zone with an untested freshman kicker.

It will also be quite important to score early in a game like this and not play from behind.  It'll be interesting as well to truly gauge both the Duke offense and defense against and ACC rival.

Duke is favored by 5 points in Vegas and while I in no way advocate gambling, we, like others, use this as a gauge for entertainment purposes.  One of the supposed ESPN experts picks Wake Forest to cover and win outright.  Some fans, seem to think that number is low.

On Saturday, we;ll know for sure how things play out.  Duke still has plenty of questions that need answering.  Can the passing game step up when needed or the running game continue to be a large factor comes to mind.  We'll also look to see how the Duke defense fares against better competition and a team with vastly more physical talent than the opening week opponent.

I suppose it is time to make my prediction and I do think Duke will win.  The question is which way the ball will bounce for a single turnover could alter this game mightily as would missing a key field goal.  One thing I am certain of is that four touchdowns would win this game for either side.

Duke 28 Wake Forest 17