Wake Forest vs Norfolk State 9/11/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons meet the Norfolk State Spartans Saturday in week 2 college football action from BB&T Field. This will be the second game of the year for both teams. Norfolk State played Toledo in their opener. In that one, the Spartans suffered a blowout loss. As for Wake Forest, they took on Old Dominion this past Friday. The Demon Deacons posted a dominant win in that game. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Norfolk State skipped the 2020 season last year, so it was quite a gap between games for the Spartans. In their last full year in 2019, the Spartans finished 5-7 with a 4-4 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. That result left Norfolk State in fifth place in the standings. 

In the opener versus Toledo, Norfolk State fell behind 28-7 at the break and ultimately couldn’t get much going in a 49-10 loss. Quarterback Juwan Carter put up 125 yards with one TD and one pick, and Justin Smith had two catches for 48 yards and a TD. 

Over on the Wake Forest side, they played nine games last season (and ultimately had seven cancellations), finishing 4-5 overall and 3-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Deacons stumbled to a tenth-place finish in a highly competitive conference and lost the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to Wisconsin 42-28. 

In week one versus Old Dominion, Wake Forest didn’t have a whole lot of trouble in a 42-10 blowout victory. Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman put up 182 yards with three touchdowns, while Christian Beal-Smith rushed 11 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns. 

PICK: I’m going to stick with the Demon Deacons, but probably staying away due to the big number. Wake had an all-around solid game in their opener, posting 352 total yards, 164 rush yards and an average of 5.0 yards per play. The Deacons were disciplined with only two penalties and managed a pretty decent 7-of-15 mark on third downs. 

As for Norfolk State, they gave up 441 yards total to the Rockets, who averaged 7.9 yards per play. Oddly enough, Toledo only held the ball for 26:33, striking quickly while they were on offense. I don’t see the Spartans regrouping well enough to manage a cover here.