Virginia Football vs. Wake Forest Game Preview, Score Prediction

Matt Newton | Sep 7, 2024

Virginia Athletics

For Live Updates of the Virginia Wake Forest game: Virginia vs. Wake Forest Live Updates | NCAA Football

After both teams took care of business in their season openers against FCS teams, Virginia and Wake Forest meet in week 2 for an early ACC opener and the first major test for both programs, who are each looking to bounce back after disappointing 2023 campaigns. As the Cavaliers hit the road for the first time this season and look to improve to 2-0 for the first time under Tony Elliott, read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Wake Forest with everything you need to know, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a score prediction.

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (1-0) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1-0)

When: Saturday, September 7th at 7pm ET

Where: Allegacy Stadium (31,500) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

How to watch: ESPN2

How to listen: SiriusXM 391, SXM App 981 | Virginia Sports Radio Network


All-time series: Virginia leads 34-17

Last meeting: Wake Forest defeated Virginia 37-17 on September 24th, 2021 in Charlottesville.

Notes

• Virginia leads Wake Forest 34-17 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1889, but the Demon Deacons have won the last five games.
• UVA is 16-7 against Wake in Winston-Salem and 15-4 at Allegacy Stadium, but the Cavaliers haven't won on the road against the Demon Deacons since 2002.
• Virginia is seeking its first victory over Wake Forest since November 3rd, 2007, when the Cavaliers defeated the Demon Deacons 17-16 at Scott Stadium.
• The Cavaliers are looking to end a three-game losing streak in ACC openers, having last won their first conference game in the 2020 season.
• Virginia has opened ACC play against Wake Forest only five times before, most recently in 1978.
• UVA is looking to improve to 2-0 on the season for the first time under Tony Elliott.

Read Virginia's injury report for the Wake Forest game here:
Virginia Football Injury Report: Hoos In/Out in Week 2 at Wake Forest

See below for UVA's week 2 depth chart for the Wake Forest game.

Virginia Football Week 2 Depth Chart - Wake Forest / Virginia Athletics

Opponent Scouting Report: Wake Forest

2023: 4-8, 1-7 ACC
2024: 1-0, 0-0 ACC

Wake Forest enters the 2024 football season in somewhat unfamiliar territory, as the Demon Deacons are looking to get back on track after going under .500 for the first time since 2015 (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when Wake went 4-5 with a loss in a bowl game). This is an important year for Dave Clawson, who coached the Deacs to seven-straight bowl game appearances before last season. Now, Wake Forest is in the midst of a disturbing trend, going from winning 11 games and making the ACC title game in 2021, to going 8-5 in 2022, and then 4-8 and missing out on a bowl game for the first time in nearly a decade last season.

What is familiar, however, is Wake Forest's patented slow mesh offense, a unique design in which the quarterback executes a run-pass option and keeps his hands on the ball for an extended period of time, getting as long of a look as possible at where the defense is committing, before finally deciding to give it to the running back or pull it out and throw it. That presents a significant challenge to opposing defenses at every level, but in particular at the linebacker unit, where eye discipline in identifying who has the ball is paramount.

Just as it's difficult to make any grand conclusions about Virginia's offensive potency based on a blowout win over Richmond last week, so too it is hard to measure Wake Forest's effectiveness on offense based on a 45-13 win over North Carolina A&T. The Demon Deacons led by just seven at halftime, but then blew the game open with a 21-0 third quarter.

Like Virginia, Wake Forest had a quarterback competition going in fall camp. But unlike UVA, Wake's QB situation supposedly remains unresolved going into week 2, as Hank Bachmeier and Michael Kern are both listed at the top of the quarterback depth chart with an OR between them. Bachmeier, a transfer from Louisiana Tech who also played four seasons at Boise State, got the start last week and completed 18 of 28 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Kern, who has been at Wake for his entire career and has played in 13 total games, came in at the end against A&T and completed two of his five passing attempts for 57 yards. Unless this game becomes a blowout in either direction or there is an injury, expect Bachmeier to be Wake's starter for the duration.

Bachmeier spread the ball around in Wake's win over North Carolina A&T, completing multiple passes to seven different receivers. The headliner was the team's top returning wide receiver Taylor Morin, who caught 41 passes for 617 yards last season and who caught all six passes that came his way in the season opener for 100 yards, including a 51-yard reception. On the ground, the key running back to watch is Virginia native Demond Claiborne, who rushed 17 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. Look for the Deacs to try to get the ball in the hands of Morin and Claiborne as often as possible.

On the other side of the ball, Wake ranked in the bottom third of the ACC in total defense and rushing defense in 2023 and was even worse than Virginia in passing defense last year, giving up 232.2 yards per game. It's too early to tell if the Deacs have made substantive improvements in those areas after one game against an FCS opponent.

That said, there is certainly some reason for optimism based on the personnel Wake Forest has on its defense this season. The Demon Deacons bring back their leading tackler from a season ago in Dylan Hazen, who recorded 86 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss in 2023. They also return their leading pass rusher in 6'3", 270-pound senior defensive end Jasheen Davis, who led Wake with 7.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss last year. Safety Nick Andersen started his season off strong with a career-high 14 tackles against North Carolina A&T. Finally, it'll be interesting to see cornerback if Capone Blue, a Kent State transfer, gets lined up across from former teammate Trell Harris, who is now a wide receiver at Virginia.

What to Watch For

Big Plays From the Virginia Offense
Against Richmond, Anthony Colandrea and the Cavalier pass-catchers connected on five big plays that combined for 217 of his near 300 total passing yards. On the ground, Virginia had seven rushing plays of 10 or more yards, including a 43-yard carry by Kobe Pace and 35-yard keeper by Colandrea. The sophomore quarterback's top priority is still to take care of the football, but cashing in on a few big plays while keeping the turnovers to a minimum is the recipe for success for this UVA offense.

UVA Front Seven vs. Wake's Slow Mesh Offense
Virginia defensive coordinator John Rudzinski said that UVA's disappointing one-sack performance against Richmond was partly due to the Spiders getting rid of the ball quickly, not really giving the Cavalier pass rushers a chance to get home. This week will present a different kind of challenge, as Wake Forest's slow mesh offense will require UVA's front seven to have the strength to get into the backfield quickly, but the discipline to not overcommit to the pass or the run before Bachmeier makes his choice. Keep an eye on Ben Smiley on the interior of the defensive line, as he got off to a strong start last week and could be a disruptive force against Wake.

Reversing Trends
Virginia is looking to reverse some unfortunate historical trends in this game. UVA has lost its last three ACC openers dating back to the 2020 season. The Cavaliers have never started 2-0 under Tony Elliott. And even though Virginia has twice as many wins all-time over Wake Forest than losses (34-17), the Demon Deacons have won the last five games in the series and the Cavaliers haven't won this matchup since 2007 and haven't won in Winston-Salem since 2002. That can all be changed on Saturday night in a primetime game on ESPN2.

Prediction

It might be too early in the season for must-win scenarios. But if the 2024 season is going to be a successful one for the Virginia Cavaliers, they have to have this one. The formula for a Virginia victory combines another mistake-free Anthony Colandrea performance and disciplined tackling from the UVA defense. If that happens, the Hoos come back from Winston-Salem with a touchdown-margin win to go to 2-0.

Score prediction: Virginia 31, Wake Forest 24

For More Virginia Football News

Anthony Colandrea Shines in First Game as Virginia's Full-Time QB1

Virginia Football: Players to Watch in UVA's Road Matchup Against Wake Forest

VIDEO: Virginia Coordinators Preview ACC Opener at Wake Forest

Virginia Football Injury Report: Hoos In/Out in Week 2 at Wake Forest

Virginia Football Releases Depth Chart for ACC Opener at Wake Forest