Wake Forest, ranked No. 23, opens the season today at Baylor, and handicapper Bryan Leonard (footballwinners.com) recommends the Demon Deacons as 12-point favorites.

"The Demon Deacons have won 20 games the past two years, and Grobe has another fine team," Leonard said. "They don't have a great deal of experience offensively, but they do have Skinner returning, and this will be his third year leading the offense."

Running back Josh Adams, who had 953 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman, also returns to the offense.

Leonard said Wake Forest's defense is "stacked with nine returning starters," including senior end Matt Robinson, three senior linebackers and senior cornerback Alphonso Smith.

The Bears, 3-9 last year, are implementing a spread offense with new coach Art Briles, who was a winner at Houston.

"With Skinner behind center and a deep and talented defense, we could see Wake Forest extending leads this season," Leonard said. "The Deacons should have little problem with a team that is lacking talent and putting in new schemes on both sides of the ball."

Baylor was blown out by every quality opponent it faced last season, losing by margins of 27, 24, 20, 48, 21, 38, 31, 31 and 31 points.

"The coaching change should help the Bears, but not this early in the season," Leonard said. "Wake Forest is a legit top 25 team that knows how to win on the road and is taking on a squad still looking for a semblance of stability."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.