Wake Forest has now won their 4th straight game after a strong win against the Golden Bears of California. They are now 6-1 overall and the second-highest-ranked ACC team, behind only the No. 1-ranked team in the country, the Miami Hurricanes. The start to the season has been as good as anyone could have imagined for the Demon Deacons.

The Deacons are now ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25, above the likes of presumed football giants such as Texas, LSU, and Florida. Getting to this point is a huge accomplishment for the Deacons, and there is still plenty that this hungry team is aspiring to do.

With plenty of questions popping up about whether or not Cal and the long travel times would get to the Deacs, coach Dickert and his players put all the doubts to rest. They have established themselves as a formidable force that can compete in the ACC, but their formula for success is not the same as that of other teams.

Ability to Pick Up Each Other

During Wake's win, they played the game without top receiver Carlos Hernandez and were also missing defensive back Davaughn Patterson for the majority of the game. Despite not having two of their star players, the rest of the team stepped up and made the winning impact both missing players would have made.

A great example is the emergence of tight end Dominick Barry, who hauled in 100 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns against Cal, marking the first three touchdown receptions of his career. In addition, defensive back Myles Turpin was really important in the win, leading the team in tackles with seven.

Wake's dominance of Cal would not have been possible without the contributions of these guys who don't share the same spotlight as the top names. Creating a culture where everyone can step up when others can't perform has been a big reason for Wake's early success.

Strong and Together Mindset

Even though the Deacons are now in the eyes of the national rankings, they did not let that get to their heads. They came out ready and determined to beat Cal, which has not always been the case with newly ranked teams, as they become complacent. That is a testament to both the Wake Forest coaching staff and to the players for continuing to buy in.

The energy and chemistry this team has are clear. They are not just going through the motions; they are having so much fun playing winning football. In addition, it seems that they rarely lose focus on what and how they should be playing against a certain team.

With the bye week coming up, it is important that the Deacons rest up so they can attack for the rest of their (hopefully) long season. It starts with finishing strong in tough games against teams like Virginia and SMU in the coming weeks. As long as Wake keeps their strong mindset of picking each other up and staying together, they can continue making noise this season.