The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-2, 6-2 ATS, 4-4 O/U) battle the NC State Wolfpack (6-2, 2-6 ATS, 4-4 O/U) in an ACC clash on Saturday evening. The Demon Deacons were dealt a road loss by Louisville last week. The Wolfpack logged a narrow home win against Virginia Tech in their previous action. Wake Forest logged a 45-42 home win against NC State last season.
The #20 Wake Forest Deamon Deacons have a challenging schedule remaining. Their next three games are against ranked opponents. Wake Forest had won three in a row highlighted by a victory against Florida State but were three-point favorites in a surprising 48-21 road loss to Louisville last week to dip to 2-2 in conference action. Their first conference defeat was in a narrow overtime loss to Clemson. The Deacons have covered the spread in four out of their last five clashes.
Sam Hartman continues to generate offense but has tossed four picks in his last two games. The junior QB is capable of big numbers. He has reached the 300-yard mark in four games this season and has amassed 2026 passing yards complemented by a 22:6 TD to INT ratio.
Wake Forest will run more than pass. They have two good RBs led by Justice Ellison. The sophomore RB hasn’t fared well in his las t few games but leads the squad with 454 yards while Christian Turner has 353 yards. WF has a marvelous receiving core. A.T. Perry has a difficult assignment against a good pass defense in this one. The junior WR only has six catches in his last two games and has posted 552 receiving yards on the season. The defeat last week marked the first time all season that the Wake Forest offense has scored fewer than 30 points.
No. 8? for Jahmal this season ??
Top-10 nationally ?? https://t.co/tleVSUBasj pic.twitter.com/oQWAeOFazN
— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) October 29, 2022
The Demon Deacons' defense is looking to rebound from their worst performance of the season. They squandered 410 total yards and especially struggled on the ground. The unit did manage to hold Boston College to only 15 points earlier this month. The pass defense is pegged 71st while the rush defense is 73rd. The squad dipped 10 spots to #20 in this week's edition of the AP Top 25. Wake Forest is averaging 38.9 points, landing them 13th. They are allowing an average of 27 points, placing them 73rd in the FBS.