We Speak College Football
Surprise of the ACC: No. 14 Wake Forest Hosts Virginia With a Title-Game Path in Sight
The best story in the ACC nobody saw coming gets a home stage on Halloween afternoon. Virginia (4-4, 2-3 ACC) visits No. 14 Wake Forest (6-1, 4-1) on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2 at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, where the Demon Deacons can take another firm step toward the ACC championship game.
Wake Forest has won four straight, including road wins at NC State and California, and already has bowl eligibility locked up before November. The offense is the engine: the Demon Deacons average 37.4 points and 445.9 yards per game behind quarterback Gio Lopez, who has thrown for 1,947 yards and 17 touchdowns. His favorite target, Carlos Hernandez, has 720 receiving yards, and Hernandez knows this opponent well: his punt-return touchdown decided last season’s 16-9 Wake win over a ranked Virginia team in Charlottesville.
Virginia arrives sliding. The Cavaliers have dropped two straight, 23-13 at SMU and 19-16 to Duke, and have struggled to score against conference defenses despite quarterback Beau Pribula’s 1,217 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. The defense has kept them in games, allowing 19.6 points per game, and they won their last trip to Winston-Salem, 31-30 in 2024. Virginia also leads the all-time series 35-18.
The matchup that decides it is Virginia’s defense against Lopez and the league’s most surprising offense. Wake Forest is 6-0 when it scores more than Virginia typically allows, so the Cavaliers must drag this game into the teens and steal possessions. Do that, and Virginia stops its slide and dents a dream season. Fail, and Wake Forest, picked as an afterthought in August, rolls into November as a legitimate ACC title contender.
Kickoff: Saturday, October 31, 3:45 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2. Venue: Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Halloween Under the Lights in Ames: No. 24 Oklahoma State’s Air Show Meets a Desperate Iowa State
Battle Line Under the Lights: No. 23 Missouri’s Streak Meets an Arkansas Team With Nothing to Lose
No. 19 SMU Takes the ACC Race on the Road to a Syracuse Team Fresh Off an Overtime Escape
Unbeaten No. 7 UCLA Closes Its Homestand Against a Nevada Defense Built to Bother People
No. 11 Texas Tries to Keep Its Surge Going as Wounded Mississippi State Visits Austin
The Nation’s Best Scoring Defense Hits the Road: 6-1 New Mexico Puts Its Mountain West Lead on the Line at San José State
Army’s Nation-Best Ground Game Meets Memphis’ 509-Yard Offense in an American Title Eliminator
On the Blue Turf, No. 20 Boise State’s Playoff Path Runs Through Texas State’s Track Team
We Speak College Football
Halloween Under the Lights in Ames: No. 24 Oklahoma State’s Air Show Meets a Desperate Iowa State
Iowa State gets its first night game of the season at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, and the opponent is the Big 12’s most entertaining surprise. No. 24 Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) visits the Cyclones (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) at 7:00 p.m. ET on FS1, with Halloween in Ames as the backdrop.
Almost nobody saw Oklahoma State coming. The Cowboys lost their opener to Tulsa, and first-year head coach Eric Morris — who brought quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins with him from North Texas — has gone 5-1 since, the only other loss a three-point game at Houston. Mestemaker has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country: 65.7 percent completions, 2,326 passing yards (second-most in the FBS), 20 touchdowns against six interceptions. Oklahoma State averages 40.0 points and 529.1 yards per game, and just hung 598 yards on Colorado in a 57-24 win that put the Cowboys back in the AP Top 25 after a one-week absence.
Iowa State’s week has been about a decision. After playing two quarterbacks in a 39-3 loss to Arizona, head coach Jimmy Rogers announced Tuesday that Jaylen Raynor will start. Raynor has started every game this season, going 93-of-158 for 1,107 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions, with 145 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. The Cyclones need three more wins to reach bowl eligibility, and their path runs through home: their only loss in Ames came against Utah, and their last home game was a 45-42 shootout win over West Virginia.
History gives Iowa State a real argument. The Cyclones won the last two meetings, 20-13 in Stillwater last season and 34-27 in Ames in 2023, though Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 34-22-3. The deciding matchup is Mestemaker against an Iowa State defense allowing 24.1 points per game: if the Cyclones can slow the Cowboys’ tempo and make this a fourth-quarter game, the crowd and the moment give them a shot. If Oklahoma State gets to 40 again, the ranking survives and the Big 12 race keeps its wildest story.
Kickoff: Saturday, October 31, 7:00 p.m. ET. TV: FS1. Venue: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa.
Battle Line Under the Lights: No. 23 Missouri’s Streak Meets an Arkansas Team With Nothing to LoseNo. 19 SMU Takes the ACC Race on the Road to a Syracuse Team Fresh Off an Overtime EscapeUnbeaten No. 7 UCLA Closes Its Homestand Against a Nevada Defense Built to Bother PeopleNo. 11 Texas Tries to Keep Its Surge Going as Wounded Mississippi State Visits AustinThe Nation’s Best Scoring Defense Hits the Road: 6-1 New Mexico Puts Its Mountain West Lead on the Line at San José StateArmy’s Nation-Best Ground Game Meets Memphis’ 509-Yard Offense in an American Title EliminatorOn the Blue Turf, No. 20 Boise State’s Playoff Path Runs Through Texas State’s Track Team
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