NC State vs Wake Forest Picks and Predictions: Wake Won't Shake its Demons Easily

A collapse against UNC saw the Wake Forest Demon Deacons suffer their first loss of the season. Now, Wake Forest has to put that loss behind it and focus on a tough game ahead, with the NC State Wolfpack coming in.

Will the underdog Wolfpack be able to hand Dave Clawson's crew another loss? Keep reading our NC State vs. Wake Forest picks and predictions for Saturday, November 13 to find out. 

NC State vs Wake Forest odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

NC State was a 2.5-point underdog in this game originally, but the Wolfpack are now getting as little as 1.5 in some places. Considering a majority of the bets are on the Demon Deacons, there is likely some sharp money on NC State. The total, meanwhile, opened at 66.5 and has mostly stayed the same, but it is 66.0 in some places.  

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets.

NC State vs Wake Forest picks

• NC State +2.5 (-110)
• Under 66.5 (-110)

Picks made on 11/11/2021 at 12:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

NC State vs Wake Forest game info

• Location: Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC
• Date: Saturday, November 13, 2021
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ACC Network

NC State vs Wake Forest betting preview

Weather

Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.

Key injuries

NC State: C.J. Clark DT (Questionable), Isaiah Moore LB (Questionable), Payton Wilson LB (Out), Cyrus Fagan S (Out)
Wake Forest: Evan Slocum DB (Questionable), Tyriq Hardimon DB (Questionable), Chelen Garnes DB (Questionable), Christian Beal RB (Questionable), Terrance Davis OL (Out), Coby Davis DB (Out)

Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.

Betting trend to know

NC State is 8-3 against the spread in its last 11 games. Find more NCAA betting trends for NC State vs. Wake Forest.

NC State vs Wake Forest predictions

NC State +2.5 (-110)

NC State has won six of its last seven games coming into this meeting with a Wake Forest team that is surely going to be a bit deflated after last week. The Demon Deacons had just started to receive some love from the College Football Playoff rankings, but they can now kiss those title hopes goodbye — they were small to begin with. 

One of the reasons to buy into the Wolfpack in this game is that they are allowing only 100.6 rushing yards per game. That’s the 10th-best mark in FBS and the two touchdowns they’ve given up on the ground is tied with the Georgia Bulldogs for the fewest allowed this season. Wake Forest is definitely a team that relies mostly on Sam Hartman’s arm in the passing game, but the Demon Deacons also utilize the run-pass option as much as anyone. If they can’t run the ball effectively, guys like Jaquarii Roberson and A.T. Perry simply won’t be getting as open as they normally do. Sure, Wake Forest will still put up a decent amount of points, but NC State would then become capable of outscoring Hartman and Co. 

Offensively, the Wolfpack have quietly scored at least 30 points in five of their nine games this season. They’re going to need to do so against a Demon Deacons squad that has scored at least 30 in all nine of its games this year. However, NC State should be able to do just that and possibly more. This passing game is absolutely humming coming into this week, as Devin Leary has thrown for at least 310 yards in each of the last three games. He has also thrown for 22 touchdowns and just one interception over the last seven games. There aren’t many quarterbacks playing better than he is right now, and Leary being able to outduel Hartman is one of the reasons NC State should win this game outright. 

Under 66.5 (-110) 

Considering Wake Forest is averaging 44.7 points per game (the third-best mark in all of college football) and NC State is scoring 31.1 points per game, the total in this one doesn’t quite add up. One would think that this number would be a heck of a lot higher than this, and that is why a large majority of bettors have gone with the Over in this game. Despite that, the number has either stayed the same or gone down across all books, suggesting the Under might actually be the sharp play. 

The reason to back the Under in this one is partly because of something we mentioned earlier: NC State’s rushing defense is legit. But it’s also worth noting that the Under has hit in three of the Wolfpack’s last four games. They combined to give up only 27 points over the last two weeks, and they did so against the Florida State Seminoles and the Louisville Cardinals. With NC State rolling on that side of the ball, it wouldn’t be shocking if Wake Forest’s 30-point streak is snapped here. 

It also shouldn’t get lost that the Under is 10-4 for NC State against totals of 63.0 or higher under head coach Dave Doeren. The total is also 7-2 when the Wolfpack have been road underdogs of seven or less in that time. 

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