No. 12 Virginia hosts Wake Forest for a Week 11 matchup on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Cavaliers are listed as 7-point home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at O/U 47.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction, and best bet for this matchup between these two ACC opponents.
Wake Forest vs. Virginia prediction, preview
Wake Forest Preview
Jake Dickert has done a great job in his first season as Wake Forest’s head coach. The Demon Deacons won just four games each of their past two seasons under Dave Clawson. Dickert has already passed that mark with five wins so far this season. Wake Forest needs just one more win to get bowl-eligible with several winnable games left on the schedule. While a home win against Delaware is Wake’s best shot at a sixth win, Dickert would love to get that sixth win against a top-ranked team like Virginia. Wake Forest’s elite defense can keep them in a game against almost anyone. They already took Georgia Tech, one of the ACC’s other top teams, to overtime earlier this season. The offense has been an issue for Wake Forest, and it is still unclear which quarterback gives them the best chance to win. However, the defense can keep them tight, and a couple of big offensive plays could be all they need to win.
Virginia Preview
Virginia is having a magical season. Tony Elliott has been slowly building this program up since he took over in 2022. This season, everything has fallen into place to get the Wahoos to the top of the ACC. They have a veteran quarterback, Chandler Morris, and a solid defense to provide stability for the team. However, their ability to find ways to win games has been impressive. This is not a perfect team by any means, but they consistently find a way to win. Some of that can be attributed to luck, but Tony Elliott and his team also deserve credit for making big plays late in games. Over the last five weeks, Virginia has been close to losing every game. Three of those five games went to overtime; they beat Washington State by two points and Cal had multiple chances to win late in the game last week. Virginia can’t keep taking it down to the wire every week if they want to survive the last month of the ACC season.
Wake Forest vs. Virginia pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is for Wake Forest to cover the seven-point spread. Virginia has been surviving by the skin of its teeth with three overtime trips in their past five games. Last week’s win over Cal was a 10-point win because Cal threw a pick-six on the final drive when trying to get into game-tying field goal range. This Wake Forest team is tough and has taken several teams down to the wire in losses. They took Georgia Tech to overtime and went 2-2 in their other four ACC games. The Wake Forest defense ranks 12th in EPA/play and eighth in success rate. They should limit the UVA offense and make this a low-scoring dogfight. If Wake Forest can generate any sort of offense, it has a great chance to win this game against the No. 12 Cavaliers.
