Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/26/2026

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 26, 2026

Venue:  L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, Louisville, KY

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Wake Forest +13.5, Louisville -13.5; Over/Under:  58.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Wake Forest +13.5, Louisville -13.5; Over/Under:  58.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Wake Forest +13, Louisville -13; Over/Under:  58.5 points

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  2-1 (0-1) (12th place, ACC)

Louisville Cardinals:  2-1 (1-0) (4th place, ACC)

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Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  lost their last game at home against the Miami Hurricanes 33-20.

Louisville Cardinals:  won their last game at home against the SMU Mustangs 41-31.

Wake Forest is entering this game with a 2-1 record overall and they have a 0-1 record in their conference games too. They are 1-1 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They lost their last game against Miami-FL 33-20. Gio Lopez was the starting QB and he completed 29/46 passes for 312 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Deuce Lawrence led the team in rushing yards with 27. Jack Foley led the receivers with 118 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 1 TD. Aiden Hall led the defense in that game with 9 tackles while Langston Hardy led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Louisville is entering this game with a 2-1 record overall and they have a 1-0 record in their conference games too. They are 2-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-1 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against SMU 41-31. Lincoln Kienholz was the starting QB and he completed 14/23 passes for 177 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Keyjuan Brown led the team in rushing yards with 163 and 2 TDs. Tre Richardson led the receivers with 62 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Kaleb Beasley led the defense in that game with 10 tackles while Clev Lubin led the defense in sacks with 1.5. Kaleb Beasley came away with 2 interceptions for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Louisville listed as a 13.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Louisville has looked good in their games this season with their 2-1 record overall and their 1-0 conference record which has them right near the top of the ACC. They have looked good on their home field too with their 2-0 home record this season. Meanwhile, Wake Forest has looked good in their games this season with their 2-1 record overall, but their 0-1 conference record has them right near the bottom of the ACC. They have been a good road team though with their 1-0 road record this year. Wake Forest won their only road game this season over Purdue, but Purdue has been one of the worst teams in the Big Ten for years and Wake Forest still needed a miracle just to force OT in that game to get the win. They are coming off a 33-20 loss at home to Miami in their last one and they were able to make that a closer game with some late scores, but that game was also over at halftime with Miami up 27-7 and Miami ended up sleepwalking through the 2nd half. Now Wake Forest is playing their 1st conference road game of the year and it isn't an easy one with Louisville looking like the 2nd best team in the ACC. Louisville's only loss this season was a tight 3 point loss to Ole Miss who just picked up a big win over LSU and looks like one of the best teams in the nation. Now they are coming off a 41-31 win over SMU in their last one and even though that game was a shootout, it never really felt like SMU had a chance as they couldn't stop that Louisville offense. Louisville has a great QB named Kienholz who is going to be a stud in this offense all year and Wake Forest doesn't have the talent to keep up with this Louisville offense on the road here. The best way to place a bet here is on Louisville to cover the spread in this game. 

Wake Forest Louisville Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 26, 2026 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Louisville 38 Wake Forest 17.

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Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 6-11 ATS in a road game where the total is between 56.5 and 63. 2-5 ATS vs. good passing teams averaging 8 or more passing yards/att. 4-1 UNDER as an underdog of 10.5 to 21 points. 7-3 UNDER vs. good offensive  teams - scoring 31 or more points/game.

Louisville Cardinals: 6-3 ATS off a home win. 8-3 ATS after scoring 37 points or more last game. 6-3 UNDER vs. good passing teams averaging 8 or more passing yards/att. 9-5 UNDER versus good offensive teams - averaging 5.9 yards/play or more. 

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  N. Carr (WR) Out - Undisclosed. G. Lopez (QB) Questionable - Undisclosed.

Louisville Cardinals:  P. Cook (WR) Out - Undisclosed. A. O'neal (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Quisenberry (WR) Out - Lower Body. K. Hughes (WR) Out - Lower Body.

“We had some opportunities to really get back in that game in the fourth quarter, just could never quite get over the hump.” - Jake Dickert after his team’s loss against Miami-Florida in their last game. 

“We scrapped, and we played hard to the end and found a way to make more plays than them. That shows the toughness and the makeup of the team.” - Jeff Brohm after his team’s win against SMU in their last game. 

WR Meeks, Antonio

WR Hernandez, Carlos

WR Shanks, Kam

TE Loerzel, Will

QB Lopez, Gio

RB Clark III, Ty

WR Hurry, TreyShun

WR McCoy, Lawayne

WR Richardson, Tre

TE Skinner, Jaleel

QB Kienholz, Lincoln

RB Brown, Isaac

Passing: Gio Lopez (887)

Rushing: Ty Clark III (144)

Receiving: Carlos Hernandez (322)

Touchdowns: Gio Lopez (2)

Passing: Lincoln Kienholz (816)

Rushing: Keyjuan Brown (231)

Receiving: Tre Richardson (243)

Touchdowns: Lincoln Kienholz (4)

Coaches:

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Jake Dickert (2nd season)

Louisville Cardinals: Jeff Brohm (4th season)