Wake Forest vs. NC State Prediction: Who Will Win Battle Between ACC In-State Rivals?
Wake Forest vs. NC State Prediction: Who Will Win Battle Between ACC In-State Rivals?
Spread: Wake Forest -2
Total: 66.5
Game Time: November 12, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: ACCN
Wake Forest vs. NC State Prediction
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons suffered their first loss of the season last week in heartbreaking fashion as they let a double-digit lead slip away from them for the second consecutive year in a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Wake had a 45-27 lead in the latter stages of the 3rd Quarter but was outscored 31-10 in the 4th Quarter to lose to the Tar Heels.
Wake Forest’s defense showed signs of improvement early in the season, but it has become clear once again that their defense is still not at the level where they can step up and neutralize quality offenses. Wake has surrendered 34 or more points in four of their last five games.
NC State started the season a bit slowly on offense. Still, the Wolfpack have been averaging north of 30 points per game in their last five games behind a balanced offensive attack with Quarterback Devin Leary who has thrown for an average of close to 400 passing yards for NC State in the last three games.
The Wolfpack ground game anchored by Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person is churning out 137 rushing yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry, and they will get to potentially feast on an awful Wake Forest run defense that is getting ripped apart, allowing 302 rushing yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry in the last three games. That could spell trouble here for Wake Forest on the defensive side of the football.
Wake Forest does have a very explosive and balanced offense of their own which is averaging 187 yards per game on the ground at 4.7 yards per rush and 321 passing yards per game with Quarterback Sam Hartman at the controls. Wake plays extremely fast from a tempo standpoint on offense, and they can move the football down the field both ways through the air and on the ground. Christian Beal-Smith spearheads the running game at Running Back, and a strong Wide Receiver corps is led by Jaquarii Roberson, who are two of the top playmakers on the team and part of an offense that has scored no less than 35 points in any game this season. Wake Forest hasn’t faced a defense as good as NC State’s defense, though, all season, and this should be the toughest test for this very dangerous and explosive Demon Deacons offense.
This is quite simply a brutal spot for Wake Forest, in my opinion. They witnessed their undefeated season come to an end last week in gut-wrenching fashion, and now they must try to pick up the pieces and bounce back just one week later against a very physical and hard-nosed NC State squad which is one of the few teams in the ACC who have played well defensively this season. The Wolfpack defense allows a full yard per play less than the Demon Deacons, and even though Sam Hartman is the better Quarterback and Wake has the better offense, we’ve seen NC State’s offense play much better in recent games, putting up 28+ points in five straight games.
There is a wide gap between these two teams on defense and combine that with Wake possibly having a difficult time rising up again after losing their first game of the season last week, and that has me looking to take NC State as a very small road underdog in this game. I will also look toward the Over as well in this game, noting that these two teams played a very exciting shootout against one another last season, with NC State emerging with the 45-42 win. Expect more of the same here.