Miami Hurricanes vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/18/2026

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Friday, September 18, 2026

Venue:  Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Miami-FL -21, Wake Forest +21; Over/Under:  55.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Miami-FL -21, Wake Forest +21; Over/Under:  55.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Miami-FL -21, Wake Forest +21; Over/Under:  55.5 points

Miami Hurricanes:  2-0 (1-0) (1st place, ACC)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  2-0 (0-0) (5th place, ACC)

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Miami Hurricanes:  won their last game at home against the Florida A&M Rattlers 77-7.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  won their last game on the road against the Purdue Boilermakers 38-36 in overtime.

Miami-Florida is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 1-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Florida A&M 77-7. Darian Mensah was the starting QB and he completed 14/15 passes for 252 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Javian Mallory led the team in rushing yards with 142 and 2 TDs. Malachi Toney led the receivers with 96 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 1 TD. JJ Dunnigan led the defense in that game with 5 tackles while Marquise Lightfoot and Herbert Scroggins III each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Wake Forest is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Purdue 38-36 in OT. Gio Lopez was the starting QB and he completed 16/27 passes for 225 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Gio Lopez led the team in rushing yards with 59 and 2 TDs. Carlos Hernandez led the receivers with 88 receiving yards on 6 receptions. Aiden Hall led the defense in that game with 11 tackles while Langston Hardy, Gabe Kirschke, and Kadear Dembele each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Miami listed as a 21 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Miami has looked great in their games this season with their 2-0 record overall. They are also 1-0 in their road games this year and picked up a conference win in week 1 against Stanford. Meanwhile, Wake Forest has looked good in their games this season with their 2-0 record overall. They have looked good on their home field too with their 1-0 home record so far. They are coming off a 38-36 win over Purdue in their last one and they pulled off a great comeback late to force OT and win that one, but they also did it against a bad Purdue team. They still got a good road win over a power 4 team, but Purdue is one of the worst teams in the Big Ten and they had Wake Forest on the ropes. Wake Forest also gave up a ton of points to a bad offense and now they have one of the best teams in the nation coming into town. Miami is ranked inside the top 25 and they look like the team that went to the National Championship last year. They are coming off a 77-7 win over Florida A&M in their last one and they destroyed Stanford in a conference game to start the season. Their offense has been putting up a ton of points with some of the best players in the nation and they already have a road conference game under their belt while Wake Forest is playing their 1st conference game of the year. Wake Forest is still a bottom half ACC team and they aren't going to put up much of a fight here against one of the best teams in the nation. The best way to place a bet here is on Miami to cover the spread in this game. 

Miami Wake Forest Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, September 18, 2026 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Miami 49 Wake Forest 17.

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Miami Hurricanes: 19-9 ATS against FBS division opponents. 11-4 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 11-3 ATS after allowing 14 points or less last game. 18-12 OVER in all lined games. 16-10 OVER as a favorite. 

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 5-9 ATS in home lined games. 3-6 ATS in a home game where the total is between 49.5 and 56. 26-33 ATS after a win by 6 or less points. 13-6 OVER when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 5-1 OVER after scoring 37 points or more last game. 

Miami Hurricanes:  L. Gilbert (TE) Out - Undisclosed.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  N. Carr (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed.

“Improved on some things as it relates to physicality, execution , um, ball secured until the end, you know, all destruction, we're trying to, you know, knock that thing out a few times, maybe not as successful, but certainly, um, better at the front seven, played a bunch of guys, um, when the 2s and 3s went in, we felt that they sustained, a relatively decent level of execution and a standard.” - Mario Cristobal after his team’s win against Florida A&M in their last game. 

“We have an absolute big-time quarterback. He’s fast. In the toughest moments, the biggest spot, he’s taking hits, doing whatever it takes to win, He’s ultimate competitor. We dominated the line of scrimmage on offense.” - Jake Dickert after his team’s win against Purdue in their last game. 

WR Moore, Joshua

WR Barkate, Cooper

WR Toney, Malachi

TE Lofton, Elija

QB Mensah, Darian

RB Fletcher Jr., Mark

WR Meeks, Antonio

WR Hernandez, Carlos

WR Shanks, Kam

TE Loerzel, Will

QB Lopez, Gio

RB Clark III, Ty

Passing: Darian Mensah (653)

Rushing: Javian Mallory (173)

Receiving: Malachi Toney (330)

Touchdowns: Malachi Toney (4)

Passing: Gio Lopez (575)

Rushing: Ty Clark III (141)

Receiving: Carlos Hernandez (253)

Touchdowns: Gio Lopez (2)

Coaches:

Miami Hurricanes: Mario Cristobal (5th season)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Jake Dickert (2nd season)