How and what to watch for Wake Forest vs. North Carolina

The North Carolina Tar Heels will be looking to keep pace with the top teams in the ACC when they take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET in Chapel Hill, NC.

The Tar Heels (5-2) are currently in fourth place in the ACC, but just need one win to become bowl-eligible. Last week UNC blew out the Duke Blue Devils 56-27, and quarterback Sam Howell was one of the two MVPs from the game, completing 18-of-27 passes for 235 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Running back Javonte Williams was the other as he dominated on the ground with 151 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns. He also had a receiving touchdown to go along with four receptions for 24 yards.

This season, Williams leads the team with 767 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. UNC rushed for an outstanding 338 yards last week, upping their season average to 239.4 yards per game.

Wake Forest (4-2) is on a four-game winning streak, with their last loss happening in September against the NC State Wolfpack. The last time we saw the Demon Deacons, they defeated the lowly Syracuse Orange 38-14 on Halloween. It was the third time in four games that Wake Forest scored at least 30 points. The Deacs are one of the best scoring teams in the ACC, averaging 37.0 points per game this season. The other teams ahead of them are Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, UNC, and Clemson.

Quarterback Sam Hartman is completing 62 percent of his passes for 1,253 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Running back Kenneth Walker III has 528 rushing yards on 106 carries and 11 touchdowns. In UNC’s game against Syracuse, he had 79 rushing yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, which was Walker’s third game with at least three rushing touchdowns. Wake Forest will need that same type of production as they face a UNC defense, which is only allowing 148.3 yards per game.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Wake Forest vs. North Carolina on Saturday, November 14th at 12:00 p.m. ET on the ACC Network, which you can stream it via the ESPN app with a cable or streaming service login that has the channel.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Wake Forest vs. North Carolina (-13.5)
Point Total: 67
Money line: Wake Forest (+340) vs. North Carolina (-480)

• Wake Forest is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games.
• Wake Forest is 4-2 straight up in its last six games against North Carolina.
• North Carolina is 7-3 against the spread in its last 10 games.
• The point total went over in four of North Carolina’s last five games.

Betting splits

Wake Forest: (31% of handle, 29% percent of bets)
North Carolina: (69% of handle, 71% percent of bets)

The Best Bet

This is going to be fun game between two of the highest scoring teams in ACC. Coming into Saturday’s contest, UNC is averaging 40 points per game, while red-hot Wake Forest is scoring 37 points per game this season. What could lift one team over the other is the running game. This season at home, the Tar Heels is averaging 295 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Wake Forest’s run defense is allowing 174 yards per game. If the Tar Heels get Javonte Williams going, it could be a long day for Wake.

Pick: North Carolina (-13.5)

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