College football previews: No. 10 Wake Forest travels to Louisville; Heels take on Pitt
Published 12:00 am Friday, October 28, 2022
By Gary B. Graves
AP Sports Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Wake Forest wants to maintain its top-10 ranking and winning streak against a Louisville program that has finally strung together victories.
If recent series history offers a clue, Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference showdown could be another high-scoring affair that comes down to the final possession.
The teams have combined for an average of nearly 85 points the past five meetings, including last season’s 37-34 shootout won by the Demon Deacons on a last-minute field goal. No. 10 Wake Forest (6-1, 2-1) enters with the nation’s 10th-ranked scoring offense (41.4 points per game), and coach Dave Clawson expects even more as his team tries to stay within reach of first-place and No. 5 Clemson in the Atlantic Division.
“I do feel in this room there is a standard, and I don’t think to a man we felt like we played to our standard,” Clawson said, referring to last week’s 43-15 ACC win over Boston College. “And to win these games this week and down the stretch, we’re going to have to play to our standard.”
That’s a scary thought considering Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman averages nearly 293 yards passing per game with 21 touchdowns. Louisville (4-3, 2-3) hopes its stingy defense can slow down the Deacons and create opportunities for an offense scoring 27.1 points per contest.
Malik Cunningham (1,593 total yards, 14 TDs) returned from a one-game absence because of concussion-like symptoms to throw two TD passes, setting up the second with a gutsy 33-yard catch-and-run to the 11. The senior was also shaken up from another hard hit that resulted in Brock Domann starting the second half and playing a fourth-quarter series.
Domann contributed a 28-yard pass leading to an insurance field goal.
Wake Forest is the second team in a challenging stretch of games against teams that are either ranked or have been in the AP Top 25. James Madison visits next week before the Cardinals travel to No. 5 Clemson and host No. 24 North Carolina State before closing at No. 19 and archrival Kentucky.
Louisville is 1-6 against ranked teams.
Louisville leads 6-3 in the series against Wake Forest, which has won three of the past five.
No. 10 Wake Forest (6-1, 2-1 ACC) at Louisville (4-3, 2-3), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (ACC)
Line: Wake Forest by 1/2 according to FanDuel.com Sportsbook.
No. 21 UNC hosts Pittsburgh
No. 21 North Carolina hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday in a key matchup for their Atlantic Coast Conference division race. The Tar Heels are unbeaten in league play while every other Coastal Division team has at least two losses. Pittsburgh is the reigning division and league champion. The Panthers have lost all six trips to North Carolina. A key matchup will be Pittsburgh’s offense against North Carolina’s struggling defense. The Panthers feature one of the nation’s leading rushers in Israel Abanikanda. The Tar Heels have one of the nation’s top passers in Drake Maye.
Pittsburgh (4-3, 1-2 ACC) at No. 21 North Carolina (6-1, 3-0), Saturday, 8 p.m. (ACC Network)
Line: UNC by 31/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Series record: UNC leads 10-5.
WHAT’S AT STAKE? The Tar Heels are atop the ACC’s Coastal Division standings with at least a two-game lead in the loss column on the other six teams. A win would give UNC its 4-0 start in league play since going 8-0 in 2015, which was the only time it has claimed the Coastal Division’s spot in the ACC title game. The reigning league champion Panthers have lost two of three overall but have won the past two meetings against the Tar Heels.
KEY MATCHUP: Pitt’s offense vs. UNC’s defense. The Panthers rank in the middle third of the league in total offense (415.6) and scoring (31.4). The Tar Heels, meanwhile, have been just trying to turn bad defense into adequate to pair with their high-flying offense. UNC is 126th out of 131 Bowl Subdivision teams in total defense (476.3) and tied for 113th in scoring defense (32.4).
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Pittsburgh: RB Israel Abanikanda. He is fourth in the FBS ranks with 137 yards per game on the ground, including a 320-yard performance against Virginia Tech that ranks the most of any FBS player this year. UNC: QB Drake Maye. Maye is fourth in FBS in passing yards (326.1) and second to Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud in passing touchdowns (24).
FACTS & FIGURES: North Carolina is 6-0 at home against Pittsburgh, including three wins since Pitt joined the ACC for the 2013 season. … Thirteen of the 15 meetings have been decided by 10 points or fewer. … UNC has converted 12 of 15 fourth downs this season. … Pittsburgh is 7-1 in its last eight road games. … Pitt has won the last two meetings, each by seven points, at home in overtime. … Abanikanda is tied for the FBS lead with 13 rushing touchdowns. … UNC receiver Antoine Green has cracked the 100-yard mark in two of his four games this year, including 112 yards and the game-winning catch at Duke on Oct. 15. … Since the league’s expansion to 14 teams in 2013, Pittsburgh is the only team to win the Coastal Division crown more than once (2018, 2021).