+ The Deacons got to, and won, the league championship last season by finishing 6-2 in the balanced Atlantic Division. They have enough parts in place to chart the same path again.

+ If there is a repeat, it'll start at the top, where Jim Grobe and his assistants are the most settled and organized staff in the league. Grobe has a template for success that everyone in the program understands and buys into the moment they enter. Everyone talks the team concept, but the Deacs actually live it.

"That's why we were able to deal with all the injuries we had last season," center Steve Justice said. "Even when we lose, there's not any sort of loss in confidence in the system."

+ Aides Dean Hood (defense), Steed Lobotzke (offense), Billy Mitchell (running backs), Keith Henry (defensive ends), Brad Lambert (linebackers), Ray McCartney (defensive tackles) and Jeff Mullen (quarterbacks) are beginning their seventh seasons. Tom Elrod (fullbacks, tight ends) is starting his fifth.

+ The offense, which averaged a relatively modest 21.6 points per game in '06, should be at least a touchdown better with the return of quarterback Riley Skinner, running back Micah Andrews and versatile Kenneth Moore back at wide receiver on a full-time basis.

Anchored by Justice, guard Chris DeGeare and tight end Zac Selmon, the blocking front is fully experienced. What's more, there's a lot of help on the way, thanks to Grobe's unwavering commitment to player development through extensive redshirting.

Wake, for decades, never had any sort of breathing room along its defensive and offensive fronts. Freshmen and sophomores were rushed to duty without proper preparation and with predictable results. They got overwhelmed, suffered season-ending injuries and never achieved any confidence or career momentum.

"Now," Grobe said, "I'm fairly confident we've built a good, strong foundation, especially on the the offensive front. There's no magic bullet, but if you can do a decent job of blocking the other team, you've got a chance to be in just about every game."

+ Kicker Sam Swank is dependable from 50 yards in on field goals and averaged 41.2 yards on punts. A redshirt junior, he'll likely be the first kicker taken in the NFL draft if he decides not to return to school in '08.

With an opening game at Boston College, followed by Nebraska a week later in Winston-Salem, there's a real danger of an 0-2 start. But even if it goes that way, the Deacons still should be able to take a winning record into midseason by getting past Army, Maryland and Duke.

- It may not have a huge impact this season, but the Atlantic Division got a lot tougher during the offseason. With Tom O'Brien going from Boston College to N.C. State and the arrivals of offensive coordinators Steve Logan at BC and Jimbo Fisher at Florida State, life is only going to get more difficult inside the division long term.

A definite key for Grobe is to keep his program strong through the year or two that could present some transition problems for his divisional rivals.

- The loss of linebacker Eric Berry to academic ineligibility was a blow to a defensive unit that already was trying to adjust to the departures of Jon Abbate, Josh Gattis, Patrick Ghee and Riley Swanson.

Seven defenders who had a combined 163 career starts are gone from the unit that surrendered only 15.4 points per game in '06.

"Our leadership is going to be tested on defense," Grobe said. "There's no getting around that, and losing Berry was a big blow. It's going to hurt."

Other than junior corner Kevin Patterson, the entire secondary has to be replaced.

If the win total slips from 11 to six or seven, the defense no doubt will be why.