8:05 pm
September 19

Wake Forest @ North Carolina State

Who will WIN this matchup?

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-1)

@ North Carolina State Wolfpack (0-0)

 

Current odds:

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: (-125)

North Carolina State Wolfpack: (+105)

 

• The line for this game is Wake Forest by 1.5 points.

• It might seem early in the season for such a conversation, but Wake Forest appears ready to talk about a certain championship. The Demon Deacons are determined to repeat as the mythical Big Four champions, signifying the top team among in-state Atlantic Coast Conference teams. That quest begins Saturday night against host North Carolina State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

• This will mark the season opener for NC State, which had a surge in coronavirus cases late last month, causing the postponement of a matchup at Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack are looking to bounce back after a miserable 4-8 campaign in 2019. Wake Forest (0-1, 0-1 ACC) could use the diversion in attention toward the in-state rivalry after suffering a 37-13 setback to No. 1-ranked Clemson in last Saturday night’s opener.

• The Demon Deacons have won the past three meetings with NC State. The only time Wake Forest has won four straight in the series came from 1951-54.

• Among positives this week, Clawson said the Demon Deacons mostly avoided the injury bug in the Clemson game. He said multiple players should be available who missed the opener because of injuries or coronavirus-related tests.

• Last year, Wake Forest posted home victories against North Carolina, NC State and Duke. That was the first time the Demon Deacons swept those opponents since 2007, though for many recent seasons they didn’t face North Carolina because of post-ACC expansion scheduling.

• NC State is 6-1 in openers under coach Dave Doeren. This will be the first opening game against an ACC foe with Doeren in charge.

• Wake Forest receiver Taylor Morin, a redshirt freshman, racked up team bests with nine receptions for 93 yards in the Clemson game. He scored the team’s only touchdown on a 1-yard pass from third-string quarterback Mitch Griffis late in the game.

• Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman, who’s in his third season, has never played against NC State.

• NC State has new coordinators with Tim Beck (offense) and Tony Gibson (defense).

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
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