Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Or in this case: The optimist side of bold projections or the pessimistic one?

Well, you’re getting the former.

It’s the time of year when optimism reigns supreme in college football and that’s what we’re leaning into here. As the headline says, these three predictions skew toward best-case-scenario territory.

There will be a yin to this yang, but that’s coming later.

Here are three bold predictions — on the positive side — for Wake Forest’s football season:

The context: We’ve known for more than a year unofficially, and a little less than a year officially, that Griffis was the heir apparent to Sam Hartman as Wake’s next quarterback.

That comes to fruition this season, as the fourth-year QB steps into the role that he briefly held when Hartman underwent surgery to alleviate a blood clot last August.

Why it’s bold: The star power of the ACC’s quarterbacks isn’t quite at the level it was last year at this time.

But it’s still star-studded and deep.

Eleven of 14 teams, including Wake Forest, are bringing their quarterbacks to ACC Kickoff next week. What that means for these purposes is those 11 teams are set at the position.

Three of them — UNC’s Drake Maye, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, and Florida State’s Jordan Travis — are in the top 10 of preseason Heisman favorites, per BetOnline.

Others like Duke’s Riley Leonard, N.C. State’s Brennan Armstrong and Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke, have made arguments in past seasons of being among the league’s best QBs.

Why so confident: Because Griffis is a gamer in a QB friendly offense and he’s had three seasons to acclimate.

There will be something of a learning curve with Griffis. It’s just not going to be as steep as it was for Hartman, who started nine games as a freshman, or as it was for Jamie Newman, who took over as a redshirt sophomore in 2018.

(John Wolford's experience kind of applies here too, but not really since the offense was so overwhelmed in his first two seasons ... and some opposing teams knew how plays were going to be run.)

And Griffis will benefit from Wake Forest returning all of the following: his starter at running back, a loaded receiver group, plus an experienced offensive line.

The context: Wake Forest needs somebody — preferably multiple somebodies — to step up along its defensive line.

The Deacons lost their top three defensive tackles (Kobie Turner, Tyler Williams and Dion Bergan Jr.) and two starting defensive ends (Rondell Bothroyd and JaCorey Johns) from last season.

Davis has the most experience and production among those who are stepping into expanded roles on Wake’s defensive line.

Why it’s bold: Not only has Wake Forest not had a player record double-digit sacks since 2019; the ACC didn’t have a player reach 10 sacks last season. (Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah led the ACC with 9½ sacks last season)

Boogie Basham’s 11-sack season in 2019 was only the sixth time in program history a player had at least 10 sacks for the Deacons.

It’s not too crazy of a prediction, though, as Davis led Wake Forest with seven sacks last season.

Why so confident: This is a two-parter.

First, Davis might have more natural pass-rush ability than the previous two starters at his position, Basham and Bothroyd. The 6-3, 250-pounder from Snellville, Ga., has quick-twitch athleticism as a speed rusher and has shown a knack for getting pressures. Of Davis’ team-best 40 pressures last season (PFF), 25 came in Wake’s last five games.

The other part of this is out of necessity.

As mentioned, Wake Forest is searching for who’s going to be disruptive on the defensive line. Defensive tackle is more of an unknown than defensive end, mostly because of how prominent Davis has been in the rotation for the past couple of seasons.

The context: Wake Forest was 1-3 last season in games decided by seven points or less, casting a shadow over what was, on the surface, a decent season.

It’s the little things like penalties and special teams play that swing the difference in one-score games, and those were areas in which Wake Forest struggled at times last year.

Why it’s bold: This might not be *that* bold, but it’s an area that should be under intense scrutiny this season.

Wake Forest has won at least eight games in four seasons under Dave Clawson and in the other three seasons, the Deacons were 3-1, 4-2 and 3-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less, in 2017, 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Last year’s losing record in such games and still the 8-5 record is one of the best illustrations of where the new standard is for this program.

Why so confident: This has everything to do with the belief that Clawson won’t let a one-year issue become a repeated one.

The little things are magnified in tight games and while there’s no way to forecast which games become the tight ones, there are plenty of ways to address little mistakes before games start and during the season.

That’s likely to be a focal point in fall camp, which should lead to a better record in those close games.