Louisville Cardinals vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Game Preview and Prediction - 10/02/2021

Game Time: 12:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 2, 2021

Venue:  Truist Field, Winston-Salem, NC

Where to Watch:  RSN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Louisville +7, WF -7; Over/Under:  61.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Louisville +6.5, WF -6.5; Over/Under:  62 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Louisville +7, WF -7; Over/Under:  61.5 points

 

Louisville Cardinals:  3-1 (2nd place, ACC Atlantic)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  4-0 (1st place, ACC Atlantic)

 

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Louisville Cardinals:  won on the road on Sep. 25 against the Florida State Seminoles 31-23.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Won on the road on Sep. 24 against the Virginia Cavaliers 37-17.

 

 

Louisville is coming into this game with a 3-1 record overall and they are 1-0 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 2nd conference matchup of the year and they are already off to a good start with a 1-0 record in conference games this season. Their season started off rocky with a loss to the Ole Miss Rebels but they quickly corrected winning their next 3 games straight against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, the UCF Knights and against FSU in their last game. Malik Cunningham played great in their last game as he completed 25/39 passes for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 56 yards and 2 TDs on the ground on 14 carries. Maurice Burkley also racked up 45 rushing yards on 11 carries but they did not really have a strong run game in that one. Tyler Harrell led the receivers with 63 yards and 1 touchdown on 2 receptions while Jordan Watkins was right behind him with 61 yards receiving and 1 touchdown on 5 receptions. Jack Fagot led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while Yasir Abdullah was right behind him with 6 solo tackles, 2 assisted ones and 2 sacks. Ashton Gillotte also racked up 2 sacks in that game while YaYa Diaby and Malik Clark both had 1 sack each as well. Kei'Trel Clark came away with the only interception for them in the game. They have scored 127 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 104 points against them. Their offense is averaging 423.3 YPG while their defense is allowing 419.3 YPG. 

 

 

Wake Forest is coming into this game with a 4-0 record overall and they are 3-0 in their home game this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 3rd conference matchup of the season and they have had a great start to the year with their undefeated record and they are also 2-0 in their conference games this season. Their 4 wins came against the Old Dominion Monarchs, the Norfolk State Spartans, the Florida State Seminoles, and against Virginia in their last game. Sam Hartman played a good game in their last one as he completed 17/29 passes for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns. Justice Ellison led the team in rushing with 86 yards and 1 touchdown on 13 carries. Jaquarii Roberson led the team in receiving with 91 yards on 4 receptions. Overall, the ball was spread out real well in that game as no one player stood out but many players had a good game on the offense. Luke Masterson led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones while Caelen Carson was right behind him with 6 solo tackles and 1 assisted one. Masterson also led the defense in sacks with 2 while Traveon Redd, Luiji Vilain, JaCorey Johns, and Rondell Bothroyd all had 1 sack each in that game. Coby Davis came away with the only interception too. They have scored 155 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 57 points against them. Their offense is averaging 430.5 YPG while their defense is allowing 357.8 YPG.

 

Both of these teams have been scoring a lot of points on offense so far this season. Louisville scored 24 points in their loss in their season opener but have since then scored at least 30 points themselves in each of their wins afterward. Wake Forest has also been putting up a lot of points as they have scored at least 35 points in each of their games. Both teams will be looking to stay undefeated in the conference so no one is going to lie down and die here if they fall behind. This score could easily get driven up here between these two teams. The best bet to make in this game is on the over as it will see a lot of scoring from both sides.

 

Louisville Wake Forest Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 2, 2021 (12:30 pm ET start time) is Wake Forest 45 Louisville 37.

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Louisville Cardinals: 54-38 O/U as an underdog. 60-50 O/U in road games. 76-69 O/U against conference opponents.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 45-61 ATS as a favorite. 80-85 ATS in home games.

 

 

Louisville Cardinals:  B. Smith (WR) out for season - Knee injury. M. Montgomery (LB) out for season - Knee injury. S. Werts (WR) Out indefinitely - Lower Body injury.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  M. Fox (DL) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. J. Nash (OL) out for season - Undisclosed injury. C. Monroe (LB) out for season - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Louisville Cardinals: Malik Cunningham is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in passing yards, rushing yards, and in touchdowns scored. He is truly dictating this offense well and leading them to success and if they are to win this game here, he will be the reason why. Look for him to make the plays and put his team in a position to win.

 

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Christian Beal-Smith is one player to watch here. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns. He will need to step up here and have a big game as they will need to control the running game to win this one. He will be a big part of that so look for him to get some touches early and establish himself on the ground.

 

"They definitely made adjustments because if not we would have had 60. I think we relaxed a little bit as an offense. We kind of laid back a little bit and thought the game was over. We got to finish off games. We started off fast. We just have to finish better in order to get to the next step to an elite offense." - Malik Cunningham on the way his offense was running in their win over FSU.

 

 

"I mean, it's electric. I love this team. It's really fun. The guys are awesome to play with and we just we have fun out there. And we got that stop, that was obviously a highlight of the game and it's just a great feeling." - Luke Masterson on the atmosphere of playing in games with this team this season.

 

 

 

WR Marshall, Justin 

WR Watkins, Jordan 

WR Johnson, Josh 

TE Melton, Dez 

HB Ford, Marshon 

QB Cunningham, Malik 

RB Mitchell, Jalen 

 

WR Roberson, Jaquarii 

WR Perry, A.T. 

WR Morin, Taylor 

TE Chapman, Brandon 

QB Hartman, Sam 

RB Beal-Smith, Christian 

 

Passing: M. Cunningham (998)

Rushing: M. Cunningham (263)

Receiving: M. Ford (208)

Touchdowns: M. Cunningham (8)

Sacks: Y. Abdullah (4)

Tackles: K. Duncan Jr. (21)

 

Passing: S. Hartman (961)

Rushing: C. Beal-Smith (276)

Receiving: A. Perry (292)

Touchdowns: C. Beal-Smith (4)

Sacks: L. Vilain (2.5)

Tackles: L. Masterson (18)

 

Coaches:

Louisville Cardinals: Scott Satterfield (3rd season)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Dave Clawson (8th season)

 

82 degrees F mostly sunny, 65% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 6 mph wind speeds SW.