Tale of The Tape & Prediction: Louisville vs. Wake Forest

(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Atlantic Coast Conference Pool)

Louisville (3-7, 2-7 ACC) is set to face Wake Forest (4-3, 3-3 ACC) on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 12:00 p.m. EST at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Demon Deacons:

- Rankings:

Wake Forest	Louisville
Associated Press Top 25	NR	NR
USA TODAY Coaches Poll	NR	NR
SOS	84th	56th
SP+	67th	30th
FPI	34th	45th

- Offensive Statistics:

Wake Forest	Louisville
Total Offense	25th (447.3)	27th (443.3)
Passing Yards	32nd (271.7)	46th (248.7)
Yards Per Completion	17th (14.19)	31st (13.44)
Rushing Yards	57th (175.6)	36th (194.6)
First Downs Gained	56th (167)	27th (211)
3rd Down Con. %	68th (40.4%)	40th (44.2%)
4th Down Con. %	69th (53.3%)	49th (59.1%)
Red Zone Con. %	8th (94.4%)	27th (89.7%)
Turnovers Lost	1st (1)	126th (24)
Interceptions Thrown	1st (0)	119th (12)
Fumbles Lost	3rd (1)	125th (12)
Tackles For Loss Allowed	117th (8.14)	120th (8.30)
Sacks Allowed	118th (3.57)	100th (2.80)
Avg. Time of Possession	89th (28:48)	45th (30:58)

Key: National Rank out of 127 Active FBS Teams (Value)

- Defensive Statistics:

Wake Forest	Louisville
Total Defense	108th (457.4)	46th (370.9)
Passing Yards Allowed	113th (275.4)	18th (185.7)
Rushing Yards Allowed	84th (182.0)	88th (185.2)
3rd Down Defensive %	80th (42.0%)	61st (39.7%)
4th Down Defensive %	110th (71.4%)	19th (38.9%)
First Downs Allowed	79th (171)	85th (183)
Red Zone Defensive %	59th (83.3%)	54th (82.1%)
Turnovers Gained	21st (16)	71st (10)
Interceptions Caught	9th (12)	77th (4)
Fumbles Recovered	69th (4)	31st (6)
Sacks Per Game	64th (2.14)	71st (2.10)
TFL Per Game	43rd (6.7)	73rd (5.9)
Defensive Touchdowns	3rd (3)	N/A

Key: National Rank out of 127 Active FBS Teams (Value)

- Special Teams Statistics:

Wake Forest	Louisville
Net Punting	75th (38.13)	104th (35.76)
Avg. Kickoff Return	1st (34.00)	54th (20.26)
Avg. Punt Return	41st (9.67)	113th (3.14)
Blocked Kicks	N/A	30th (1)
Blocked Kicks Allowed	62nd (1)	62nd (1)
Blocked Punts	N/A	N/A
Blocked Punts Allowed	1st (0)	91st (1)
Field Goal Attempts	12-15	12-14
PAT	33-33	34-34

Key: National Rank out of 127 Active FBS Teams (Value)

- FPI Prediction: Per ESPN's Football Power Index, Louisville has a 48.9% chance to win against Wake Forest. Louisville has an FPI rating of 5.3 and Wake Forest's FPI of 6.9 is the fourth-highest out of the Cardinals' 2020 opponents.

- SP+ Prediction:

Per Bill Connelly's SP+ model, the Cardinals have a 72.18% chance to take down the Demon Deacons. According to SP+ ratings, Wake Forest has the sixth-lowest rating of any Louisville opponents this season.

- Personal Prediction: Wake Forest 31, Louisville 28.

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