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wake forest demon deacons vs nc state wolfpack-prediction-pick-odds-college football-saturday october 5

Wake Forest vs NC State Predictions, Picks, Odds, How to Watch for College Football Saturday

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1-3) are set to make the short trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, to visit the NC State Wolfpack (3-2). Kickoff is at 12 p.m. ET on The CW Network.

Neither of these two teams have gotten off to the best of starts, but the oddsmakers feel there’s a gap between them.

The Wolfpack got back over .500 with a win over Northern Illinois last week, 24-17. However, this NC State team has yet to reach the potential many saw for it in the preseason, and with question marks surrounding the offense, it may open the door for its opposition.

Speaking of NC State’s opposition, the Demon Deacons come into this matchup off a tough loss to Louisiana, 41-38. Wake Forest battled, but it missed a late field goal, failing to force overtime.

The Wolfpack are favored by 5.5 points on the spread and are -220 on the moneyline. Meanwhile, the total for this matchup is set at 54.5 points.

So, will the Demon Deacons carry their momentum into this matchup? Or will we see the Wolfpack offense begin to fire on all cylinders?

Here’s my Wake Forest vs NC State predictions and my college football picks for Saturday.

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  • Wake Forest vs NC State Pick: Wake Forest +3.5 or better

My Wake Forest vs NC State best bet is on the Demon Deacons spread with the best line currently available at BetMGM, according to our live NCAAF odds page.

Wake Forest vs NC State Odds, Spread, Lines

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  • Wake Forest vs NC State Point Spread: Wake Forest +4 (-110) · NC State -4 (-110)
  • Wake Forest vs NC State Total: Over/Under 52
  • Wake Forest vs NC State Moneyline: Wake Forest +150 · NC State -180

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[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”Wake Forest Football vs NC State Football Preview” center=”true” logo1url=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaaf/100/wf.png” logo2url=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/12/NC-State-alternate-logo-100.png”][/subheader]

Wake Forest Demon Deacons Betting Preview: Bachmeier the Key?

It’s been a long road for Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier. However, the senior looks to have settled in nicely, as he’s off to a great start in year six.

Bachmeier leads a pass-heavy Demon Deacons offense that’s 32nd in yards per game. He’s completed over 66% of his passes and is averaging 7.6 yards per completion, which is good for 50th in the country.

This passing attack led by the best version we’ve seen of Bachmeier should give NC State some trouble.

The Wolfpack may rank 37th in opponent completion percentage allowed, but they were also torched by Nico Iamaleava of Tennessee and Cade Klubnik of Clemson.

I’m not putting Bachmeier in the same class as those two quarterbacks, but he’s much closer to them than the other three quarterbacks the Wolfpack have faced.

However, the Wake Forest offense doesn’t have to be one-dimensional in this matchup.

The Deacs should have a big edge on the ground, as they outrank NC State 14 to 62 in rushing success rate and 45 to 93 in line yards on this side of the ball.

That means we should see plenty of Demond Claiborne, who averages 5.5 yards per carry.

NC State has dropped off defensively, and Wake Forest is steadily improving. That should continue in this matchup.

NC State Wolfpack Betting Preview: Can They Get Going Offensively?

I mentioned in the open that this NC State team hasn’t shown the potential that was projected for it entering the season.

A big part of the Wolfpack’s struggles thus far have to do with Grayson McCall not being healthy.

However, their other star transfer — running back Jordan Waters — is averaging just 4.1 yards per carry. They rank 108th in rushing success rate, and those struggles have put the load of the offense on backup quarterback CJ Bailey.

Bailey’s primary target — Kevin Concepcion — has only racked up 70 yards on 17 receptions with him under center. It’s clear this offense is lacking explosiveness.

With all of these stalling parts on the offense, it’s hard to be confident in the Wolfpack, even in a great matchup against a Wake Forest defense that’s 119th in points per game allowed and 131st in yards per game allowed.

This is NC State’s opportunity to get it going offensively, but it’s going to have to prove it because it may need to go score-for-score with the Demon Deacons.

[appcard imageurl=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/509930_NCAAFArticleCard.png” cta=”The must-have app for college football bettors” firstupsell=”The best NCAAF betting scoreboard” secondupsell=”Free picks from proven pros” thirdupsell=”Live win probabilities for your bets” buttontext=”DOWNLOAD NOW” buttonurl=”https://action.onelink.me/qhpb/4fb1273b”][/appcard]

[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”Wake Forest vs NC State” subtext=”Matchup Analysis” center=”false” logo1url=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/ncaaf/100/wf.png” logo2url=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/12/NC-State-alternate-logo-100.png”][/subheader]

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Wake Forest and NC State match up statistically:

Wake Forest Offense vs. NC State Defense
Offense
Defense
Edge
Rush Success 14 62
Line Yards 45 93
Pass Success 42 57
Havoc 15 35
Finishing Drives 94 105
Quality Drives 49 107
NC State Offense vs. Wake Forest Defense
Offense
Defense
Edge
Rush Success 108 117
Line Yards 96 124
Pass Success 38 131
Havoc 130 131
Finishing Drives 64 99
Quality Drives 87 129
Pace of Play / Other
PFF Tackling 26 22
PFF Coverage 110 47
Special Teams SP+ 63 5
Middle 8 32 127
Seconds per Play 23.4 (10) 31.4 (131)
Rush Rate 47% (111) 53% (77)
Data via CollegeFootballData.com, SP+, Pro Football Focus and SportSource Analytics.

[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”How To Make College Football Picks For My Wake Forest vs NC State Prediction” center=”true” logo1url=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/252389_action-logo-check.png”][/subheader]

This is an intriguing matchup between two teams near the bottom of the ACC.

However, we can learn a lot about each team, as the Demon Deacons are bound to find results if they can clean up defensively.

However, for the Wolfpack, there’s nothing but question marks surrounding them, despite this being a great matchup on paper.

I’m going to fade NC State until proven otherwise.

Pick: Wake Forest +3.5 or better

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[subheader sizedown=”true” text=”How to Watch Wake Forest vs NC State Live: Streaming, Channel, Time” center=”true”][/subheader]

Location: Carter-Finley Stadium
Date: Saturday, Oct. 5
Kickoff Time: 12 p.m. ET
TV / Streaming: The CW

[subheader sizedown=”true” text=”NC State vs Wake Forest Betting Trends” center=”true”][/subheader]

  • 73% of the money is on NC State to cover the spread against Wake Forest.
  • 88% of the money is on the under to hit in Wake Forest vs. NC State.

[subheader sizedown=”true” text=”NC State vs Wake Forest Weather” center=”true”][/subheader]

[gameforecast league=”ncaaf” gameid=”226771″ date=”2024-10-05″][/gameforecast]

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