The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-2, 2-2 ACC) meet the NC State Wolfpack (6-2, 2-2) Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ACC Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Wake Forest vs. NC State odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Wake debuted at No. 21 in the College Football Playoff rankings, while State checks in at No. 22, mirroring its AFCA Coaches Poll number.
Until last week, Wake looked pretty good for a much higher ranking, but it was blasted 48-21 in Louisville. Well, perhaps blasted is giving the Cards too much credit, as the Deacs lost 4 fumbles while being intercepted 4 times. Wake was also sacked 8 times. Ouch!
NC State is feeling much better about itself after a 22-21 win over Virginia Tech last time out, rebounding from a 24-9 loss at Syracuse. QB MJ Morris stepped up with 265 passing yards and 3 TD, as someone in red finally filled the shoes of the injured QB Devin Leary after a handful of uneven performances.
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Wake Forest at NC State odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 9:21 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Wake Forest -190 (bet $190 to win $100) | NC State +155 (bet $100 to win $155)
- Against the spread: Wake Forest -3.5 (-112) | NC State +3.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 54.0 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Wake Forest at NC State and predictions
Prediction
Wake Forest 32, NC State State 25
Moneyline
Wake Forest (-190) will cost you almost 2 times your potential return, which is just a little too rich for a team playing on the road in a rivalry game.
And yes, this is a big-time, underrated rivalry game between 2 top-25 teams. This is also the 116th meeting, with NC State (+155) leading 67-42-6. These teams were actually both located in the Raleigh/Durham area, with the university located in Wake Forest, N.C., just northeast of the state capital, before completely relocating to Winston-Salem in the mid-1950’s.
The score of last year’s game was 45-42 in favor of Wake, which was the identical score of N.C. State’s win in 2020 in Raleigh, and that was a series 1st, too.
AVOID, as this one really will be as close as the 2 team’s rankings.
Against the spread
WAKE FOREST -3.5 (-112) has an overall better body of work, as previous to the Louisville debacle, the Deacs only had an overtime loss to Clemson as its only blemish.
NC State +3.5 (-108) was once ranked in the Top 10, but a loss at Clemson, and then the subsequent loss of Leary, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, derailed things, especially in terms of offensive continuity. Perhaps it has found an answer with Morris, but even with his good showing, NC State barely eased by a bad Virginia Tech side.
Wake will take better care of the ball, and you know it has been drilled hard on ball control this week after a super sloppy game. Bank on the comeback.
Over/Under
OVER 54.0 (-108) seems like an awfully low number considering the past 2 meetings have had 87 combined points each.
The Over is 9-4 in the last 13 road games for Wake Forest, while going 4-1 in the last 5 against teams with a winning record, too.
For NC State, the Over is 8-3 in the last 11 at home, and 5-2 in the last 7 inside the ACC. However, the offense is in transition a little, with Morris cutting his teeth, and QB Jack Chambers also seeing snaps and learning on the job. Still, lean Over here.
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