The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1-2, 0-1 ACC) welcome the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (2-1) into Winston-Salem for a Week 5 bout between two programs coming off losses.
Louisiana lost a week ago in a hard-fought game against Tulane at home, while Wake Forest is still trying to bounce back after getting demolished in Oxford at the hands of Ole Miss two weeks ago.
The game got so bad for Wake Forest, that it paid the buyout to not play the other half of the home-and-home series against Ole Miss next season.
Wake Forest will be looking for something positive in this one to try and get its season going in the right direction after starting 1-2. Louisiana will look to bounce back and add a road win to its resume at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
Will the bye help Wake Forest get back on track, or will it come up short yet again?
Let's dive into my Louisiana vs. Wake Forest prediction and college football picks for Saturday, Sept. 28.
Louisiana vs Wake Forest Odds, Prediction
| Louisiana Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -105 | 60 -110 / -110 | +136 |
| Wake Forest Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -115 | 60 -110 / -110 | -162 |
- Louisiana vs Wake Forest spread: Wake Forest -3
- Louisiana vs Wake Forest over/under: 60 points
- Louisiana vs Wake Forest moneyline: Wake Forest -162
- Wake Forest vs Louisiana Pick:Louisiana ML +150
My Louisiana vs Wake Forest best bet is on the Ragin' Cajuns moneyline, with the best line currently available at DraftKings, according to our live NCAAF odds page.
Louisiana vs Wake Forest BettingPreview
Louisiana Football
Head coach Michael Desormeaux leads his Ragin’ Cajuns into a road matchup against what normally is a formidable Wake Forest team. This is Desormeaux’s third full season in Lafayette, where he has made and lost two bowl games in his first two seasons.
Desormeaux would like to take a step this year and win more than six games, and a win at Wake Forest would be a big step forward.
After losing quarterback Ben Wooldridge for the year in 2023, the Cajuns have had him back under center this year after he led them in all of 2022.
Wooldridge had a shaky start at the beginning of this year with three turnovers through three games — two of which came last week against Tulane.
Louisiana will look to run the ball early with the nation’s 28th most-successful ground game that ranks 37th in explosiveness. This should help Wooldridge settle in a bit to help lead the nation’s fifth-best passing attack from a Success Rate perspective.
The Ragin’ Cajuns approach each game with a balanced attack, so if opponents can't stop their ground game early, they'll keep them guessing all day long.
On the other side of the ball, Louisiana has allowed a modest 20 points per game with only 260 yards allowed of total offense per game in the early season.
Louisiana has been pretty solid against both the pass and the run, ranking 34th in Defensive Success Rate. The defense needs to get stops early in possessions, though, because it has the tendency to allow chunk plays, especially through the air.
The Ragin' Cajuns defense is allowing nearly six yards per carry on the year, which could be a problem against Wake Forest this week. They'll need to get the stops early in the Demon Deacons' drives and keep them behind the chains.
Wake Forest Football
The Demon Deacons are off to a 1-2 start under head coach Dave Clawson in his 11th season in Winston-Salem. Clawson has generally produced solid teams, owning a winning record in six of his previous 10 seasons.
But after a rough 4-8 record a year ago, he finds his team in another tough spot with a 1-2 start. This spot feels like a must-win scenario for Wake Forest to give it some momentum prior to restarting ACC play next week after a loss to Virginia a few weeks ago.
Wake Forest has turned to senior Hank Bachmeier to lead the offense, and returning leading rusher Demond Claiborne will help ease the transition.
Claiborne was the leading rusher in a committee a year ago, but he looks to take more of a leadership role this season. Claiborne has found his success pacing the 44th-most successful ground game in the nation.
The problem for him is that this Wake Forest offense is always throwing the ball due to a combination of scheme and being behind in games.
Bachmeier has kept it pretty clean through the air with no turnovers, but he just isn't finding much success, ranking 88th in Pass Success Rate.
Wake Forest will need to lean on its ground game in this one if it wants to take advantage of its strength and keep it close.
However, if it falls behind again and Louisiana can plan against the pass, it could get ugly for the Demon Deacons yet again.
The Wake Forest defense has been awful, plain and simple. It limits the big plays (33rd in explosiveness), but it doesn't matter when it just gives up consistent 3-4 yard gains in both the run and the pass game.
The Deacs have given up 28 points and nearly 500 yards of offense per game this season. They sit 129th in Defensive Success Rate on the year as well.
They'll have to be significantly improved if they want to turn this season around. This week could be a good opportunity for them to do so.
Louisiana vs Wake Forest Matchup Analysis
Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Louisiana and Wake Forest match up statistically:
Louisiana Offense vs. Wake Forest Defense
 | Offense | Defense |  Edge |
| Rush Success | 25 | 123 | |
| Line Yards | 33 | 130 | |
| Pass Success | 30 | 127 | |
| Havoc | 8 | 130 | |
| Finishing Drives | 26 | 96 | |
| Quality Drives | 6 | 114 | |
Wake Forest Offense vs. Louisiana Defense
| Offense | Defense | Edge |
| Rush Success | 42 | 88 | |
| Line Yards | 59 | 69 | |
| Pass Success | 87 | 27 | |
| Havoc | 15 | 134 | |
| Finishing Drives | 110 | 48 | |
| Quality Drives | 67 | 78 | |
Pace of Play / Other
| | |
| PFF Tackling | 99 | 56 |
| PFF Coverage | 67 | 117 |
| Special Teams SP+ | 27 | 26 |
| Middle 8 | 58 | 27 |
| Seconds per Play | 29.8 (114) | 22.7 (8) |
| Rush Rate | 49% (91) | 46% (119) |
Louisiana vs Wake Forest Prediction
Plain and simple, this Wake Forest defense is not good.
I know Ole Miss can make a defense look bad, but the Deacs haven't impressed at all in other games against significantly worse offenses.
I expect them to struggle to stop the Ragin’ Cajuns' balanced attack with any consistency.
The crazy part is that we're being given three points for Louisiana here. I'm telingl Vegas to keep them and taking the Ragin’ Cajuns to win this one outright.
Pick: Louisiana ML +150
How to Watch Wake Forest vs Louisiana
| Location: | Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC |
| Date: | Saturday, Sept. 28 |
| Kickoff Time: | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | ACC Network |
NCAAF Betting Trends for Wake Forest vs Louisiana
- Wake Forest has landed 89% of the bets while generating 99% of the money for this game.
- The under has been the sharp side, landing 45% of the tickets and 69% of the cash.
Louisiana vs Wake Forest Weather
