FSU heavily favored vs. Wake before entering brutal final stretch

The good news for the Florida State football team is it will enter the second half of the 2018 season as a solid favorite this Saturday against Wake Forest (3:30 p.m., ESPN2).

The Demon Deacons have lost three of their last four games, and they've done so in ugly fashion. Over the last month, they've given up 63 points to Clemson, 56 points to Notre Dame and 41 to Boston College. Their 3-3 overall record has been bolstered by wins over Tulane, Towson and Rice -- Tulane and Rice are a combined 3-10 on the season, and Towson is an FCS school.

So the fact that Florida State is favored by 10 points against this Wake team at home isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for the Seminoles (3-3, 1--3).

But if first-year head coach Willie Taggart is going to lead FSU to a 37th consecutive bowl appearance, he almost certainly will have to knock off the Demon Deacons and then find two more victories against a back-loaded schedule that is among the toughest in the country -- if not the toughest outright.

* ALSO SEE: Updates from Willie Taggart's Monday press conference (Wake Forest)

Even before the season began, the second half of FSU's 2018 schedule was expected to be much more difficult than the first. And those final six opponents -- well, the final five after Wake -- have certainly lived up to the billing.

Clemson, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Boston College and Florida are a combined 29-3 at the midway point of the season, and four of those five teams are nationally ranked. Clemson is No. 3, Notre Dame is No. 4, Florida is No. 11 and N.C. State is No. 16.

Three of those teams -- the Tigers, Irish and Wolfpack -- are undefeated.

Even including Wake, FSU's final six opponents have a combined record of 32-6.

Meanwhile, the Seminoles' first six opponents -- Virginia Tech, Samford, Syracuse, Northern Illinois, Louisville and Miami -- are a combined 22-18. And not one of those teams is ranked in the Top 25 now that Miami has fallen out following its loss to Virginia.

If Florida State is going to make a run at a bowl appearance, the Seminoles likely will have to keep playing solid defense and make major strides on offense. Through six games, FSU ranks 112th (out of 130 FBS teams) in total offense at 344.0 yards per game, and 112th in scoring offense at 23.0 points.

And while the Seminoles have been playing better in recent weeks -- they've averaged 30.7 points over their last three games, compared to 15.3 in their first three -- they are about to face a much higher quality level of defenses.