Best Bets, Props for Louisville vs. Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons come into this game as the #10 team in the nation and having only one loss on the season. Louisville, on the other hand, comes into this game unranked and with three losses on the season. The average sportsbook-savvy person would conclude that Wake Forest should be the heavy favorites coming into this game.

However, that is not the case. As of now, the Demon Deacons are a mere 3.5 point favorite to come out on top, which says a lot about where this Louisville team has come since the beginning of the season.

With a blistering loss to Syracuse to open the season and going winless in the ACC heading into Week 6, the state of the Louisville football team was looking questionable. A lot of questions were swirling around the conversation of the incoming 2023 recruiting class and the status of their commitments. But Coach Satterfield rallied the troops to take down Virginia and Pittsburgh pushing them over .500.

Louisville now sits at 4-3 with hopes of upsetting the Demon Deacons and continuing their winning streak. Here are the lines and props to watch out for in this game:

• Over/Under Sits at 63.5. With the way Louisville’s defense has played in the last two games and the way Louisville’s offense has played in the last two games, I would lean taking Under 63.5.
• Louisville to win outright is +134 and to cover the spread is the usual -110. The fact that Wake Forest is not the heavy favorite in this game is peculiar. In the history of this matchup, the underdog is 8-0 ATS in their last eight meetings. With it only being a 3.5 point spread, I would lean betting ATS.
• Malik Cunningham’s rushing yards prop stands at 73.5. The trend over the past two games he has played (out vs. Virginia with concussion) is that he has gone significantly under 73 yards. He tallied 62 yards against Boston College and 46 yards against Pittsburgh. So I would definitely lean with Under 73.5

Louisville’s offense has been average enough to squeeze out a couple of wins, but their defense has been stellar. According to Sports Illustrated’s Matt McGavic, these are Louisville defense’s statistics after their win over Pittsburgh.

Wake Forest has been paying attention to the Cardinal defense and does not want to take them for granted calling them “a very talented football team and able to contain people.” The offensive coordinator for the Demon Deacons knows who Yaya Diaby and Yasir Abdullah are and they have to gameplan for guys like that. Louisville has talent in their front seven and their secondary.

Look for a potentially slow start in the first quarter and then for Louisville to get into rhythym going into the second half.