Tar Heels Travel Down Tobacco Road To Take on Wake Forest - Our Staff Makes Their Predictions
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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-3, 3-3 ACC) are bowl eligible but looking to add to their season's accomplishments as they host Tobacco Road rival North Carolina.
The game marks Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick's first-ever Big Four game. His debut as a college coach got off to a rocky start with embarrassing losses to TCU and UCF in September, but since then, he has begun to turn things around. With three games remaining, all Tobacco Road opponents, he and the Tar Heels can become bowl eligible with two more wins.
However, our staff predicts that UNC will still be seeking those two wins after Saturday's matchup at Allegacy Stadium. Once again, our staff is unanimous in their picks, this time picking the Deacs, with an average predicted margin of victory of just over a touchdown at 7.5 points. We are also predicting a relatively low-scoring game with just over 36 total points predicted.
Last week, our staff unanimously chose Virginia. However, we will take the Deacs' win and the knowing they can go bowling. Even though no one got the win, Evan, our incredible photographer, came the closest with his prediction of UVA 14 - Wake 10. The actual score was Wake 16 - UVA 9.
Sean and I are the only two on our staff at 7-2. Sean, though, has the lead as he has two closest win predictions compared to just my one. Five of our staff are right behind us at 6-3.
Staff Leaderboard after Week Eleven
Place | Name | Wins | Losses | Closest | Cumulative Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sean | 7 | 2 | 2 | 178 |
2 | Barry | 7 | 2 | 1 | 204 |
3 | Carson | 6 | 3 | 2 | 176 |
4 | Brett | 6 | 3 | 2 | 184 |
5 | Keylor | 6 | 3 | 1 | 214 |
6 | Ryder | 6 | 3 | 0 | 182 |
7 | JD | 6 | 3 | 0 | 202 |
8 | Blake | 5 | 4 | 1 | 180 |
9 | Andrew | 5 | 4 | 1 | 215 |
10 | Justin* | 5 | 1 | 0 | 111 |
11 | Evan* | 4 | 3 | 0 | 159 |
12 | Ian* | 2 | 2 | 0 | 121 |
* Writers who joined the staff after Week One
Staff Predictions - Wake Forest vs. Nort Carolina
Andrew Bauhs (5-4; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 21-14
Barry Lewis (7-2; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 21-17
Blake Robison (5-4; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 20-17
Brett Gibbons (6-3; two closest predictions) - Wake Forest 23-17
Carson Wersal (6-3; two closest predictions) - Wake Forest 28-17
Evan Harris* (4-3) - Wake Forest 17-10
Ian Napetian* (2-2), Wake Forest 23-17
JD Andress (6-3) - Wake Forest 28-21
Justin Kontul* (5-1) - Wake Forest 17-13
Keylor Piers (6-3; one closest prediction) - Wake Forest 17-6
Ryder Solberg (6-3) - Wake Forest 24-10
Sean Kennedy (7-2; two closest predictions) -Wake Forest 24-14
*Evan. Ian, and Justin joined our team after the season began.
Do you agree with our picks? Let us know what you think the final score will be.
What's Next?
The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 15. It will be played at Allegacy Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC. It can be seen on The CW.
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Barry is the managing editor/publisher of both the TCU Horned Frogs On SI and Wake Forest Demon Deacons On SI sites. He oversees a team of 15+ writers, photographers, and podcasters covering all sports at both schools. He writes on football, basketball (men’s and women’s), baseball, men’s tennis, and other sports as needed. His weekly articles include ACC Power Rankings and Poll Watching during the football, basketball, and baseball seasons. Barry is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He has covered the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, the 2023 College Football National Championship, the 2023 College World Series, the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis National Championship, Big 12 Football Media Days, and Big 12 Basketball Media Days. He is an avid sports fan and traveler, and he loves any opportunity to see a sporting event in person. He has been to 18 of the 30 MLB ballparks, experienced game day at 25 college football stadiums, seen 21 NFL stadiums, and been to 16 bowl games.