BSD Staff Predictions: Louisville Cardinals

The Deacs are now 4-0 after taking down the Virginia Cavaliers on the road by a score of 37-17. We had our first perfect week across the board, as everyone had the Deacs winning outright, Wake as the underdog against the spread, and the under. No one has picked against the Deacs so far this season—let’s see if that changes this week.

Game Info

• Opponent: Louisville Cardinals
• Spread: Wake -7
• Over/Under: 62

Adam: Wake 31—Louisville 28 | UL +7 | Under

I think Wake Forest is the better team in this game, but something about Louisville tends to give the Deacs trouble. The Cardinals typically have a quarterback who is an incredible runner, and Wake has struggled with containing the QB in the past. In the last game against Louisville in 2019 (I’m not counting last year because we had a month off), the Deacs were ranked and undefeated, but allowed the QB tandem of Malik Cunningham and Evan Conley to rush for 138 yards and a touchdown, which helped the Cardinals hand the Deacs their first loss of the season. Cunningham has hit the ground running this season and is leading the Cardinals in rushing with 56 carries for 263 yards—almost 5 yards per carry. He also leads the nation in rushing touchdowns with 8. Stopping him in the running game is absolutely the key to winning this game in my mind.

On the other side, the Wake Forest offense just needs to keep doing what they’ve been doing and they should have no trouble scoring on Louisville. The Cardinal defense is giving up over 30 points per game this season against FBS teams, so the Deacs should be able to put up plenty of points. If we don’t have a repeat of 2019 on special teams, I think the Deacs get the win.

Elijah: Wake 35—Louisville 28 | Wake -7* | Under

Like Cam’s article mentioned, this week feels like a pivotal moment for the Demon Deacon season. Wake Forest enters after two relatively easy ACC victories. Are the Deacs real? Is this an almost early tradition? A tough, high scoring loss to the Louisville Cardinals two seasons ago essentially derailed another promising start. This game has the makings of an eerily similar situation. Wake Forest is the touchdown favorite and AP ranked while Louisville enters with a respectable 3-1 record. Can the Deacs keep their mojo going against the Cards?

Look for the much improved Deacon defense do their best to limit the Cards. So far, the Deacs D has answered the call every game, holding their ACC opponents to 17 points or less. With the improved defense, the offense led by Sam Hartman gets opportunities to get rolling. I want to believe there’s something different and more resilient this year, Deacs win 35-28.

Cam: Wake 45—Louisville 28 | Wake -7 | Over

I don’t think this Louisville defense is any good. The offense looks like Malik Cunningham and just a bunch of question marks. They’re one of the worst teams in defending the run, running the ball, a below average OL… what are we doing here. Wake 45 UL 28

SF: Wake 35—Louisville 14 | Wake -7 | Under

If Wake could house UVA, I don’t see Louisville faring much better. Not sure much else needs to be said. Wake 35 UL 14

Average: Wake 37—Louisville 25 | Wake -7 | Under *

It looks like once again, everyone is on board with Wake to bring home the win. One might say that we’re slightly biased, but we haven’t been wrong yet.

* For the purposes of record keeping, a prediction that matches the spread will count for the favorite. An over/under that matches exactly will count as an under.