North Carolina vs Wake Forest Prediction 11-16-24 College Football Picks

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the North Carolina Tar Heels will meet on Saturday in college football action from Kenan Memorial Stadium. Here’s a North Carolina vs Wake Forest prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best North Carolina vs Wake Forest pick.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons Betting Preview

Wake Forest beat NC A&T in their opener this year, then lost to Virginia, Ole Miss, and Louisiana in the next three. Wake Forest hit a 3-1 run over the next quartet with wins over NC State, UConn, and Stanford around a loss to Clemson.

Back on Friday versus California, the Deacons were down 29-14 by halftime and ultimately lost 46-36. Hank Bachmeier finished with 274 yards, two TDs, and three interceptions. Leading the rush was Demond Claiborne with 23 totes for 113 yards and a score.

North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Preview

Over on the North Carolina side, they beat Minnesota, Charlotte, and NC Central in their first three games. The Tar Heels would lose to James Madison, Duke, Pittsburgh, and Georgia Tech in the next four before wins over Virginia and Florida State.

Back on November 2 in their last matchup with Florida State, the Tar Heels put up 14 points in both the second and third quarters on the way to a 35-11 win. Jacolby Criswell posted 211 passing yards with a TD, but Omarion Hampton was the hero on 172 rush yards and four scores.

Why the North Carolina Tar Heels will win

• Wake Forest has lost each of its last nine November games as an underdog.
• North Carolina has won four of its last five games against Wake Forest.
• Wake Forest has failed to cover the spread in seven of its last eight games as an underdog.
• The favorite has covered the spread in three of North Carolina’s last four games.
• North Carolina has won the first quarter in 18 of its last 24 games against conference opponents at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

Why the Wake Forest Demon Deacons will win

• The road team has won each of Wake Forest’s last eight games.
• North Carolina has lost each of its last three games at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
• North Carolina has failed to cover the spread in each of its last six games at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
• The road team has covered the spread in eight of North Carolina’s last nine games.
• Wake Forest has won the first quarter in four of its last five games against conference opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Wake Forest’s last nine November games as a road underdog against non-AP-ranked teams has gone OVER the total points line.
• Four of North Carolina’s last five games against non-AP-ranked teams have gone UNDER the total points line.

North Carolina vs Wake Forest Prediction

I’ll probably go with North Carolina. The Tar Heels are coming off a couple of strong performances in their last two games and playing well right now. UNC put up 500 total yards against Florida State (289 rushing) along with 23 first downs and a nice 11-of-16 on third-down tries. With the extra rest and prep ahead of this one, the Tar Heels should come on strong.

As for Wake Forest, on Friday they had a pretty rough overall effort with four turnovers and a spotty 5-of-15 effort on third downs. The defense held strong on third downs themselves with 5-of-14 allowed but also gave up 500 total yards (385 passing) and 31 first downs. The Deacons have a lot to clean up this week in practice before they enter another tricky matchup on Saturday.