The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-6) travel to meet the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-1) looking to snap their three-game losing streak. The IndFBS’s leading passer, DeShone Kizer (1,931 yards, 16 TDs), will be featured in this game. It will air Saturday, Nov 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 42-30 last week. Will Fuller had a big game in the win, grabbing seven balls for 152 yards and three TDs. DeShone Kizer had a big game as well, totaling 262 yards and five TDs through the air. Wake Forest is hoping for a different outcome after losing in a close one against Louisville 20-19. Tabari Hines had an outstanding performance for the Demon Deacons, hauling in three receptions for 82 yards and one TD. Cortez Lewis also had a big day, contributing 78 receiving yards and a TD on one reception.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at 51 points and the Demon Deacons are a heavy 27-point underdog.
Sitting at 8-1 Straight Up (SU) and 7-2 Against The Spread (ATS), the Fighting Irish will look to improve heading into Week 11. In the past five games, Notre Dame is 4-1 for both SU and ATS. A focal point of Notre Dame’s offense is the running game, which ranks 17th in the country with 221.1 rushing yards per game. Turning to the Fighting Irish defense, a few key spots could be deciding factors this week. The Demon Deacons will be matching up against a stout Notre Dame pass defense, which only allowed 194.0 passing yards over their last five matchups. Notre Dame usually gets off to a quick start in games, averaging 10.2 points in the first quarter.
In the other locker room, the Demon Deacons have 3-6 SU and 4-5 ATS records this season. The Demon Deacons went 1-4 SU and 3-2 ATS over the last five games. The Wake Forest pass defense has given teams nightmares during the past five games. During that time, opponents have gained an average of only 215.6 passing yards against this frightening group.
Predictions: SU Winner – Notre Dame, ATS Winner – Notre Dame, O/U – Over
Notes
Notre Dame is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games.
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Notre Dame’s last 17 games.
Notre Dame is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Notre Dame’s last 8 games at home.
Wake Forest is 1-2 SU when leading at the half this season. Notre Dame is 6-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
This season, Wake Forest is only 1-5 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and an even 1-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
According to overall FBS team rankings, Notre Dame is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 17th-ranked rushing attack will face the 58th-ranked run defense of Wake Forest, while its 68th-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 121st-ranked running game of the Demon Deacons.
