The Cal Bears take the trip cross country to North Carolina to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Both teams enter this matchup with a 4-4 record. The Golden Bears are coming off a win two weeks ago before they went on their bye. The Demon Deacons won two straight before they went on their bye. The Golden Bears find themselves as 7 point road favorites in this matchup and this California vs. Wake Forest matchup kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Game Matchup & Betting Odds
California Golden Bears (-7) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+7) o/u 55
8:00 p.m. ET, Friday, November 8, 2024
Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC
TV: ACC Network
Public Betting: Public Bettors Backing Golden Bears
As of this writing, our CFB Public Betting page shows that 56% of bets are on California. That said, this page is updated frequently so make sure that you click on the link provided so that you’re getting the most updated information.
California Golden Bears
The Cal Bears are 4-4 on the season but they also enter this ACC matchup 0-4 in conference play. They’ve suffered some tough losses losing three straight games by a combined 4 points. Last week they hosted Oregon State and blew them out 44-7. Running back Jaydn Ott made his first appearance in 3 weeks after battling through injuries. He finished the game with 10 carries for 11 yards and 4 receptions for 58 yards. He had a light workload in his return as the game was easily in hand. Fernando Mendoza completed 27 of 36 pass attempts for 364 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest enters this matchup with a 2-2 conference record after beating Stanford 27-24. Hank Bachmeier completed 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 245 yards and 3 touchdowns while also adding an interception and a lost fumble. Demond Claiborne took 23 carries for 127 yards. The defense had 3 interceptions and a recovered fumble on the night.
California vs. Wake Forest Betting Trends
California is 5-3 ATS in their last 8 games
The UNDER is 5-0 in California’s last 5 road games
Wake Forest is 2-7-2 ATS in their last 11 games
The OVER is 4-4 in Wake Forest’s last 8 games
California vs. Wake Forest Prediction:
Take Cal to cover the 7 points on the road on Friday night. Yes they are traveling across the country, but they are also coming off of a bye, and they landed in NC on Wednesday. They have lost 4 of their last 5 games but they lost by 1 to Miami who is ranked 4th in the CFP rankings in a game they should have won. The very next week they lost by 2 to Pittsburgh who is now 18th in the CFP rankings. They lost Jaydn Ott to injury against Miami and he made his return in a blowout last week. Wake Forest is 83rd in the country in yards per rush attempt allowing 4.5. Jaydn Ott should be able to get back on track against this defense. On the other side, Cal is 12th allowing 3.2 yards per rush attempt. They also have the 11th ranked defense in opponent points per game allowing 18 per game, and that includes the 39 points to Miami. Wake Forest is 111th allowing 33.5 points per game. The Golden Bears have the far better defense and their offense should be able to move the ball against a Wake Forest defense that has struggled this season.
California vs. Wake Forest Prediction: Cal Bears -7
