North Carolina Tar Heels vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 11/15/25

This series has historically had its fair share of fireworks, but that doesn’t feel like the setup this time around. Both offenses are sputtering, and both defenses have quietly been playing bend-but-don’t-break football. The rhythm and tempo simply aren’t there for either side. Start with North Carolina. Since late September, the Tar Heels have struggled to generate consistent offense. In their last six outings, they’ve surpassed the 20-point mark just twice — and in four of those games, they’ve scored 16 or fewer. The explosiveness that define them in recent years has evaporated, replaced by a far more conservative, grinding approach built on field position and clock management.

Wake Forest, meanwhile, has become synonymous with low-scoring slugfests. Last week, the Demon Deacons survived Virginia in a 16-9 rock fight. Before that, they put up only seven at Florida State, and even in victory against SMU, they managed just 13 in a one-point escape. There were moments earlier in the year when they flashed a bit of scoring potential — like in road trips to Oregon State and Virginia Tech — but lately, this team has been perfectly content to win ugly. That’s the shared DNA here: two teams content to grind, leaning on defense, trading punts, and playing for field position rather than fireworks. It’s not hard to imagine a game script where possessions are long, drives stall in plus territory, and points are earned the hard way.

North Carolina vs Wake Forest prediction: Under 38.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to Under 38.