Wk 4 · 2026
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Louisville Cardinals — Sat, Sep 26
Sat, Sep 26 ·
L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, Louisville, KY
· ESPN · Disney+ FINAL
Weather
No forecast yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
at
12:00pET
LOU -11.5 · total 57.5 DraftKings opened -13.5 · 2 toward WAKE
Ratings differential WAKE by 0.2
What is at stake
A ACC game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Wake Forest form
W 38-14at NCSUW 57-3vs STANW 30-27at LOUL 20-33vs MIAW 38-36at PUR
2026 season
Louisville form
W 44-20vs FSUL 28-31at NCSUL 27-30vs WAKEW 41-31vs SMUW 59-13vs VILL
2026 season
Wake Forest this season
Straight up5-1 · 83% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Louisville this season
Straight up3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under5-1 · 83% (6 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 4
| Opponent | Wake Forest | Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford ACC | vs W 57-3 preview | vs Wk 9 · scheduled preview |
| NC State ACC | at W 38-14 preview | at L 28-31 preview |
| SMU ACC | at Wk 11 · scheduled preview | vs W 41-31 preview |
| Georgia Tech ACC | at Wk 12 · scheduled preview | at Wk 10 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Louisville leads 7–4 · Wake Forest won the last one
11 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
6.5 points toward Louisville
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-09-26 | Wake Forest 30 — 27 Louisville | at LOU | Wake Forest |
| 2022 | 2022-10-29 | Wake Forest 21 — 48 Louisville | at LOU | Louisville |
| 2021 | 2021-10-02 | Louisville 34 — 37 Wake Forest | at WAKE | Wake Forest |
| 2020 | 2020-12-12 | Wake Forest 21 — 45 Louisville | at LOU | Louisville |
| 2019 | 2019-10-12 | Louisville 62 — 59 Wake Forest | at WAKE | Louisville |
| 2018 | 2018-10-27 | Wake Forest 56 — 35 Louisville | at LOU | Wake Forest |
| 2017 | 2017-10-28 | Louisville 32 — 42 Wake Forest | at WAKE | Wake Forest |
| 2016 | 2016-11-12 | Wake Forest 12 — 44 Louisville | at LOU | Louisville |
| 2015 | 2015-10-30 | Louisville 20 — 19 Wake Forest | at WAKE | Louisville |
| 2014 | 2014-09-27 | Wake Forest 10 — 20 Louisville | at LOU | Louisville |
| 2006 | 2007-01-02 | Louisville 24 — 13 Wake Forest | neutral | Louisville bowl/CFP |
Wake Forest leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Gio Lopez QB #3 | 98/151, 1377 YDS, 10 TD, 1 INT |
| Steele Pizzella QB #6 | 3/6, 63 YDS | |
| Rushing | Ty Clark III RB #4 | 50 CAR, 258 YDS, 3 TD |
| Deuce Lawrence RB #22 | 47 CAR, 235 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Gio Lopez QB #3 | 48 CAR, 192 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Receiving | Carlos Hernandez WR #8 | 37 REC, 603 YDS, 3 TD |
| Jack Foley WR #10 | 9 REC, 172 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Kam Shanks WR #5 | 12 REC, 162 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Antonio Meeks WR #14 | 8 REC, 155 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Vincent Firenze LB #23 | 37 |
| Davaughn Patterson DB #5 | 36 | |
| Aiden Hall LB #21 | 35 | |
| Sacks | Langston Hardy DL #11 | 3 |
| Gabe Kirschke DL #10 | 3 | |
| Zach Lohavichan DL #94 | 1.5 | |
| Interceptions | Dallas Afalava DL #52 | 1 |
| Somad Eaddy DB #38 | 1 |
Louisville leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Lincoln Kienholz QB #3 | 107/154, 1534 YDS, 9 TD, 1 INT |
| Briggs Cherry QB #10 | 2/2, 24 YDS | |
| Rushing | Isaac Brown RB #1 | 74 CAR, 557 YDS, 4 TD |
| Keyjuan Brown RB #5 | 38 CAR, 367 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Lincoln Kienholz QB #3 | 61 CAR, 198 YDS, 8 TD | |
| Receiving | Tre Richardson WR #0 | 29 REC, 445 YDS, 2 TD |
| Lawayne McCoy WR #7 | 20 REC, 420 YDS, 4 TD | |
| TreyShun Hurry WR #2 | 24 REC, 271 YDS | |
| Jaleel Skinner TE #18 | 15 REC, 259 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | T.J. Capers LB #11 | 48 |
| Stanquan Clark LB #6 | 43 | |
| Kaleb Beasley DB #10 | 43 | |
| Sacks | Clev Lubin DL #50 | 4 |
| Tyler Thompson DL #3 | 2.5 | |
| Benjamin Perry LB #23 | 2 | |
| Interceptions | Kaleb Beasley DB #10 | 4 |
| Stanquan Clark LB #6 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.