This week's picks

Virginia vs. Wake Forest Prediction and Pick, Week 9 2026

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Data updatedOct 31, 2026
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Picks two teams at random. Any FBS team can come up.

How we picked it

How we picked it

Three ratings look at a team in three different ways. The numbers' pick is the team at least two of them favor.

Where the game is won

Where the game is won

Each row puts one team's unit against the unit it faces, by national rank out of all FBS teams. An edge is a gap of 25 spots or more.

Ratings: SP+ via CFB Update; PRIME via primecfb.com. Box and play stats computed from CollegeFootballData.com play data (via the public cfbfastR files), FBS games only for scoring. Rushing yards here exclude sacks, so they run higher than official totals. Ranks are out of 138 FBS teams.

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Virginia at Wake Forest

Week 9, Sat, Oct 31, 3:45 PM ET, Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.

The numbers say: Wake Forest, 83% to win.

The game

KickoffSat, Oct 31, 3:45 PM ET
TVESPN2
WhereAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
Weather63°, cloudy, wind 7 mph
LineWake Forest −12.5, total 48.5
Line movementOpened Wake Forest −13.5; moved 1 point toward Virginia. Total opened 49.5, down 1.
SeriesVirginia leads 34–18
Last meetingWake Forest 16–9 in 2025

The ratings and the line

MarginWin chanceTotal
SP+Wake Forest by 8.974%52
PRIMEWake Forest by 21.294%
EloWake Forest80%
The lineWake Forest −12.5, opened −13.548.5, opened 49.5

Margins include home field. SP+ is Bill Connelly's rating; Sources has PRIME and Elo. Line and total from DraftKings, as of Fri, Oct 30, 7:43 PM ET.

Who wins, Virginia or Wake Forest?

The numbers say: Wake Forest. 82% chance to win

Which matchups decide Virginia vs. Wake Forest?

All three ratings favor Wake Forest, by 8.9 to 21.2 points, and it isn't close. Wake Forest's best matchup is its big-play defense, 4th in explosive plays allowed, against Virginia's big-play offense at 94th. Virginia's way back in is its ball security, 20th in interceptions thrown per pass, against Wake Forest's takeaway defense at 135th. We left out the edges built on Jekail Middlebrook, who's out.

Virginia with the ball

Wake Forest with the ball

Who's out for Virginia and Wake Forest?

Virginia

Wake Forest

How Virginia and Wake Forest compare, in charts

Each chart puts all 138 FBS teams on two stats; Virginia and Wake Forest are lit. Dashed lines are the FBS averages, and up and right is better. Ranks in parentheses. Games through Oct 24, 2026.

How Virginia's and Wake Forest's players compare

The scatter charts show the top 40 FBS players at the position by both stats combined, plus the players lit here. Dashed lines are the averages; up and right is better. Ranks are among every FBS player at the position with enough snaps. Takeaways are interceptions plus fumble recoveries. Games through Oct 24, 2026.

How do SP+, PRIME and Elo rate Virginia and Wake Forest?

On a neutral field, SP+ has Wake Forest 6.4 points better (25th to 53rd). PRIME also has Wake Forest ahead, by 18.7. Elo, which only sees results, also has Wake Forest ahead (20th to 54th).

VirginiaWake Forest
SP+ overall5.8 (53rd)12.2 (25th)
SP+ offense27.0 (65th)33.1 (29th)
SP+ defense21.5 (36th)21.3 (35th)
SP+ special teams0.3 (28th)0.3 (28th)
PRIME net-0.4 (73rd)18.3 (10th)
PRIME offense-2.48 (87th)12.11 (5th)
PRIME defense2.14 (52nd)5.77 (24th)
PRIME SOS-2.3 (68th)-0.2 (47th)
PRIME SOR-0.5 (82nd)2.5 (13th)
Elo1581 (54th)1766 (20th)

Opponent-adjusted power ratings. These drive the projection.

Who's better once you adjust for the schedule?

Virginia's offense ranks 95th in adjusted EPA per play, and the Wake Forest defense it faces ranks 30th in EPA per play allowed. Wake Forest's offense ranks 12th against Virginia's 60th-ranked defense. The matchup that decides it is Wake Forest's offense against Virginia's defense. The biggest edge on the board is Wake Forest's run game: 21st in adjusted EPA per rush, against Virginia's 84th-ranked defense. That's a mismatch. Adjust for opponents and Virginia's offense falls from 50th to 95th in EPA per play: a lot of that came against soft defenses.

VirginiaWake Forest
EPA per play (adjusted)+0.06 (95th)+0.22 (12th)
EPA per pass (adjusted)+0.14 (104th)+0.31 (12th)
EPA per rush (adjusted)+0.06 (67th)+0.13 (21st)
Success rate (adjusted)38.7% (109th)45.5% (29th)
Success rate, standard downs (adjusted)46.5% (74th)49.1% (36th)
Success rate, passing downs (adjusted)25.9% (132nd)35.2% (8th)
Explosiveness (adjusted)0.93 (75th)0.95 (46th)
Line yards per carry (adjusted)3.07 (36th)2.99 (55th)
Open-field yards per carry (adjusted)0.86 (135th)1.05 (93rd)
EPA per play allowed (adjusted)+0.09 (60th)+0.04 (30th)
EPA per pass allowed (adjusted)+0.18 (61st)+0.11 (22nd)
EPA per rush allowed (adjusted)+0.08 (84th)+0.03 (40th)
Success rate allowed (adjusted)39.9% (43rd)41.9% (71st)
Explosiveness allowed (adjusted)0.92 (36th)0.91 (19th)
Line yards allowed per carry (adjusted)3.02 (86th)2.82 (31st)
Open-field yards allowed per carry (adjusted)1.18 (86th)0.89 (11th)

The same efficiency numbers, adjusted for the offenses and defenses each team has faced (CollegeFootballData.com). A good number against a soft schedule shrinks; one against a hard schedule grows.

Who's more efficient, Virginia or Wake Forest?

Virginia is better running (26th in EPA per rush) than throwing (64th). Wake Forest's run defense ranks 30th, so that's strength on strength. Wake Forest is about as good throwing (8th in EPA per pass) as running (5th). On third down, Wake Forest has the edge: its offense ranks 15th in EPA per third-down play, and the defense it faces ranks 97th.

VirginiaWake Forest
EPA per play+0.18 (50th)+0.36 (2nd)
EPA per pass+0.23 (64th)+0.48 (8th)
EPA per rush+0.19 (26th)+0.26 (5th)
EPA per 3rd-down play+0.27 (111th)+0.72 (15th)
EPA per play allowed+0.09 (70th)+0.06 (53rd)
EPA per pass allowed+0.19 (75th)+0.15 (63rd)
EPA per rush allowed+0.09 (83rd)−0.04 (30th)
EPA per 3rd-down play allowed+0.48 (97th)+0.49 (102nd)

Expected points added per play, from CollegeFootballData.com. EPA measures how much each play changes the points a team can expect from the drive. Zero is break-even; +0.20 is very good. Not adjusted for opponents.

Who scores more, Virginia or Wake Forest?

Virginia outscores FBS opponents by 8.6 a game, and Wake Forest by 18.0. Virginia's offense ranks 73rd in scoring, and the Wake Forest defense it faces ranks 30th in points allowed. Wake Forest's offense ranks 14th against Virginia's 31st-ranked defense. Neither side of the ball has a clear edge.

VirginiaWake Forest
Points scored28.2 (73rd)37.4 (14th)
Points allowed19.6 (31st)19.4 (30th)

Per game, FBS opponents only.

Which offense has the edge?

Virginia has no clear edge here. Its best is success rate, 48th, against a defense ranked 52nd in success rate allowed. Wake Forest's best matchup is early downs: its offense ranks 3rd in SUPLEX, and Virginia's defense ranks 48th in SUPLEX allowed.

VirginiaWake Forest
Pass yards / game199.6 (101st)291.4 (15th)
Rush yards / game179.9 (52nd)156.6 (84th)
Yards per play5.99 (82nd)7.80 (4th)
Yards per carry4.83 (91st)5.03 (77th)
Yards per attempt8.68 (31st)11.72 (1st)
Completion %72.3% (20th)83.3% (2nd)
Success rate45.6% (48th)54.0% (1st)
Explosive play rate11.2% (94th)17.2% (4th)
3rd down conversion35.0% (102nd)54.4% (5th)
Sack rate (taken)12.0% (131st)5.4% (71st)
INT rate (thrown)1.1% (20th)0.6% (8th)
SUPLEX60.8% (32nd)70.6% (3rd)

Per game and per play, from play-by-play.

Which defense has the edge?

Wake Forest's defense is best placed to limit big plays: it ranks 4th in explosive plays allowed, and Virginia's offense is middle of the pack in explosive play rate (94th). That's a mismatch.

VirginiaWake Forest
Pass yards allowed / game189.3 (33rd)235.1 (105th)
Rush yards allowed / game150.4 (73rd)112.1 (15th)
Yards per play allowed5.29 (34th)4.62 (6th)
Yards per carry allowed4.87 (75th)3.89 (13th)
Yards per attempt allowed6.01 (24th)5.34 (7th)
Success rate allowed37.0% (31st)39.4% (52nd)
Explosive plays allowed10.1% (43rd)6.8% (4th)
3rd downs allowed30.2% (16th)39.8% (80th)
Sack rate (generated)5.6% (79th)4.9% (98th)
INT rate (generated)3.2% (43rd)0.7% (135th)
SUPLEX allowed51.0% (48th)44.1% (18th)

What opponents managed against them.

Who wins up front?

Wake Forest has the better number in 10 of 12. The biggest gap is stuff rate (defense), where Wake Forest ranks 5th and Virginia 85th.

VirginiaWake Forest
Big Uglies: offensive line50.7 (62nd)53.0 (47th)
Big Uglies: defensive front46.1 (92nd)58.0 (16th)
Line yards per carry3.36 (19th)3.29 (27th)
Line yards allowed per carry2.96 (75th)2.54 (13th)
Second-level yards per carry1.20 (35th)1.30 (13th)
Open-field yards per carry0.83 (110th)1.31 (54th)
Stuff rate (runs stopped at or behind the line)15.5% (32nd)14.8% (28th)
Stuff rate (defense)17.6% (85th)27.5% (5th)
Power success (short yardage)81.1% (21st)67.7% (97th)
Power success allowed74.1% (89th)56.5% (10th)
Front-seven havoc allowed9.5% (84th)7.1% (24th)
Front-seven havoc8.4% (98th)10.6% (43rd)

The lines. Big Uglies is our rating for each offensive line and each defensive front: adjusted line yards (30%), stuff rate (20%), power success (15%), sack rate (20%) and front-seven havoc (15%), against every FBS team. 50 is average, and every 10 points is a standard deviation. Line stats from CollegeFootballData.com, garbage time out.

Who wins the turnover battle?

Virginia is +0.5 in turnover margin a game and Wake Forest is +0.1. At about five points a turnover, that's roughly a 2-point edge for Virginia. Turnover margin rarely holds from one month to the next, so don't count on it.

VirginiaWake Forest
Interceptions thrown / game0.25 (11th)0.14 (5th)
Fumbles lost / game0.38 (42nd)0.29 (20th)
Giveaways / game0.63 (15th)0.43 (3rd)
Interceptions / game1.00 (22nd)0.29 (119th)
Fumbles recovered / game0.13 (129th)0.29 (94th)
Takeaways / game1.13 (81st)0.57 (126th)
Turnover margin / game+0.5 (29th)+0.1 (62nd)

Per game, from play-by-play.

Which team has more talent?

Virginia has the more talented roster (53rd in the 247Sports talent composite; Wake Forest is 63rd). But Wake Forest plays further above its talent: +11.1 points of SP+ beyond what its roster predicts, to Virginia's +3.5.

VirginiaWake Forest
Talent composite699.9 (53rd)680.9 (63rd)
Blue-chip ratio12.2% (58th)9.0% (73rd)
Players on roster117 (29th)103 (119th)
Rated by 247Sports90 (23rd)89 (29th)
5-star players0 (37th)0 (37th)
4-star players11 (53rd)8 (62nd)
3-star players76 (11th)78 (9th)
Below 3-star3 (53rd)3 (53rd)
2026 transfers in31 (30th)24 (53rd)
Transfer share34.4% (47th)27.0% (79th)
SP+ vs. talent+3.5 (48th)+11.1 (16th)
Returning production9.5% (119th)14.2% (111th)
Returning passing production1.1% (108th)22.9% (70th)
Returning rushing production21.0% (92nd)4.6% (108th)
Returning receiving production8.7% (127th)13.1% (117th)
2026 recruiting class (national rank)111 (111th)39 (39th)
Recruiting rank, last four classes80.2 (77th)51.8 (53rd)

247Sports team talent composite and 2026 transfer portal class. Star counts cover only the players 247Sports rates, not walk-ons, so they add up to less than the full roster. Ranks are out of all 138 FBS teams.

Which roster costs more?

Virginia's roster is valued at $21.0M, Wake Forest's at $18.7M. Dollar for dollar, Wake Forest plays better: +8.4 points of SP+ above what its payroll predicts, to −0.4 for Virginia.

VirginiaWake Forest
Roster value$21.0M (44th)$18.7M (62nd)
Roster cost per win$5.2M (31st)$3.1M (3rd)
Projected wins per $1M0.35 (17th)0.46 (3rd)
SP+ vs. payroll-0.4 (38th)+8.4 (11th)

NIL roster value from The NIL Standard (power-conference teams plus Boise State and Oregon State). Ranks are out of 70 teams with a valuation.

Where did each team's wins come from?

Virginia is 0.0 wins against a .500 team; the biggest piece is luck (−1.3). Wake Forest is +2.5 wins against a .500 team; the biggest piece is coaching (+1.4). Virginia's record is 1.3 wins worse than its play on bad luck, so it's better than the record says.

VirginiaWake Forest
RECEIPTS (total)0.0 (82nd)+2.5 (8th)
Schedule RECEIPTS+0.5 (70th)+0.1 (83rd)
Roster RECEIPTS+0.2 (57th)+0.1 (65th)
Coach RECEIPTS+0.6 (40th)+1.4 (14th)
Luck RECEIPTS-1.3 (130th)+0.9 (17th)

Where the wins came from. Every team starts as a .500 team. Then each win (or loss) goes to the schedule, the roster, the coaching or luck, and the four add up to the real record. Wins above or below a .500 team.

Virginia at Wake Forest: questions people ask

Virginia vs. Wake Forest prediction: who will win?

The numbers pick Wake Forest, 82% chance to win. All three ratings favor the same team. Wake Forest's best matchup is its big-play defense, 4th in explosive plays allowed, against Virginia's big-play offense at 94th.

Where can I watch Virginia vs. Wake Forest, and what time is it?

Sat, Oct 31, 3:45 PM ET at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. It's on ESPN2.

What's the projected score of Virginia vs. Wake Forest?

SP+ projects Wake Forest 30–21. That's from this season's SP+ offense, defense and special teams ratings, with home field worth 2.5 points.

What's the line for Virginia at Wake Forest?

DraftKings has Wake Forest −12.5, total 48.5. The numbers pick winners, not bets.

What's the Virginia vs. Wake Forest series history?

Virginia leads 34–18. Last meeting: Wake Forest won 16–9 in 2025.

Who are the players to watch in Virginia vs. Wake Forest?

Virginia: Beau Pribula (1,381 passing yards), Middlebrook (484 rushing yards) and Dashawn Martin (253 receiving yards). Wake Forest: Giovanni Lopez (1,965 passing yards), Ty Clark III (310 rushing yards) and Carlos Hernandez (726 receiving yards). Season totals through Oct 24, 2026.

Who are the quarterbacks in Virginia at Wake Forest?

Virginia's is Beau Pribula (1,381 passing yards this season); Wake Forest's is Giovanni Lopez (1,965 passing yards this season).

More on this game

Numbers through the games of Oct 24, 2026. SP+ as of Oct 27, 2026. Updated every week.

Virginia and Wake Forest: team pages with every stat and national rank. Compare any two teams.