LockSZN
Aug 28, 12:06 PM EDTupdated
Rankings · College

Wake Forest

0–0 FBS · ACC · 2026
Rating
+3.4
Rank
54
Résumé
—
Our picks
—
2026 preseasonRating and rank begin with last season's strength. The record, résumé, and team-performance report start fresh when games are played.View Wake Forest's 2025 final page
Projected wins · our pregame odds for every game left
5.2projected wins · 12 games
Bowl (6+)43%
9+ wins8%
11+ wins1%

Preseason odds: every line starts from last season and offseason inputs, so this moves most in September. Bands come from the playoff simulation, which carries team-quality uncertainty — early-season spread is honestly wide.

Ranking by week151025Wk 0Wk 7Wk 14Wk 23
Ours 54thFinal

Playoff picture

from 10,000 season simulations
Reach title game4%
Win conference2%
Make the CFP4%
First-round bye1%
Win it all<1%
  • a CFP bid: 4% with a win vs Akron, <1% with a loss.

Simulated from our pregame win probability for every remaining game; the CFP field is picked by a committee stand-in, so treat those odds as model-derived. Full bracket on the playoffs page.

Luck & what-ifs

2025 final
One-score record
4–1
decided by 8 or fewer
Wins vs expected
+3.0
8–4 vs 5.0
One-score games flipped
5–7
what-if record
Turnover margin
−2
expected −9.0

Luck: +2.0 wins versus the record their play deserved. Banked wins keep; the pace is what regresses.

ConjPWR profile

2025 final · 48th · +3.9 pts vs avg
What repeats — the ratingvs averagepts / game
Offense efficiency−2.3111th
Offense play value−2.299th
Defense efficiency+3.811th
Defense play value+5.09th
Drive finishing−0.7107th
Field position+0.441st
What doesn't — luckvs averagepts / game
Ball security0.062nd
Third-down conversion−0.0116th

Points per game vs an average team, opponent-adjusted and weighted by how much the factor repeats — the tagged luck factors are already discounted to near zero. Luck added +0.6 pts/game to results; in CFB that pace regresses.

Hidden game

special teams · disruption · style
Special teams EPA / game
−3.0
129th
Havoc rate
11.2%
53rd
Rush rate over expected
−1.8%
77th · pass-leaning

The pieces the ConjPWR factors don't cover: kicking-game value, defensive disruption, and run/pass lean (style, not quality).

Where they sit · offense vs defensepinch or ⌘/ctrl + scroll to zoom
−0.200.00+0.20FBS averageKansas StateIowa StateKansasFresno StateWestern KentuckySam HoustonHawai'iStanfordSouth FloridaBoise StateRutgersOhioAkronWyomingNC StateEast CarolinaUCFJacksonville StateMinnesotaBuffaloCincinnatiNebraskaWisconsinMiami (OH)Michigan StateWestern MichiganCharlotteApp StateKennesaw StateBaylorAuburnColoradoGeorgia TechUNLVSan José StateCentral MichiganMarylandFlorida AtlanticPurdueBall StateTennesseeSyracuseSouthern MissMississippi StateOhio StateTexasTulaneNorthwesternKentuckyToledoIndianaOld DominionPenn StateNevadaFlorida StateAlabamaMassachusettsTempleGeorgiaMarshallVirginiaCoastal CarolinaTexas A&MUTSAUtah StateUTEPClemsonLSUMichiganNew MexicoUSCMissouri StateOle MissGeorgia StateLouisianaRiceTexas StateEastern MichiganGeorgia SouthernOregon StateCaliforniaArizonaWashingtonColorado StateUCLAUtahSouth CarolinaVirginia TechMiamiNotre DameNorth CarolinaTCULouisvilleJames MadisonNorthern IllinoisPittsburghFlorida InternationalIowaDukeIllinoisLibertyUConnTexas TechKent StateSMUDelawareTroyMissouriBowling GreenOregonOklahoma StateNorth TexasNavyUABMiddle TennesseeWest VirginiaFloridaArkansasArkansas StateMemphisArmySouth AlabamaHoustonVanderbiltLouisiana TechOklahomaArizona StateBoston CollegeUL MonroeNew Mexico StateTulsaBYUWashington StateSan Diego StateAir ForceWAKEgood offense, good defense →Offense EPA/play →better defense →
Wake Forestoff −0.01 91stdef −0.11 13th

Every FBS team, 2025 final. EPA is garbage-time filtered. Tap a logo for its numbers.

Pick record · our line vs the close
4–8against the closing line
Pick was the favorite2–4
Pick was the dog2–4
Home / away side2–4 / 2–4
Average gap to the close+3.0 pts
Our line beat the close4 of 12

Graded against the closing line, not the open. A push counts as neither.

Schedule strength

opponent rating, points vs average
Avg opponentFBS rank
Played−0.173rd
Full season−0.173rd

Upcoming

our line · the market · play or pass at a DK/FD price
DateOpponentOur lineMarketOur call
Thu, Sep 3AkronWAKE −26.1WAKE −24.0WAKE −24.0No price
Sat, Sep 12at PurdueWAKE −5.3—no line
Fri, Sep 18MiamiWAKE +17.1—no line
Sat, Sep 26at LouisvilleWAKE +8.3—no line
Sat, Oct 3StanfordWAKE −7.6—no line
Sat, Oct 10at NC StateWAKE +4.7—no line
Sat, Oct 17at CaliforniaWAKE −0.9—no line
Sat, Oct 31VirginiaWAKE +0.6—no line
Sat, Nov 7MerrimackWAKE −31.3—no line
Sat, Nov 14at SMUWAKE +11.1—no line
Sat, Nov 21at Georgia TechWAKE +5.4—no line
Sat, Nov 28DukeWAKE PK—no line

How to read this page

EPA/playExpected points added per play.
Success rateShare of plays gaining enough for the down.
Quality driveA drive reaching a first down inside the opponent's 40.
Points per QDFinishing — points scored per quality drive.
QD ratioOur quality drives against theirs. Game control.
RROERush rate over expected for down, distance, score and time.
Game percentileThis performance against every FBS game this season.
Expected winsOur pregame win probabilities summed — computed exactly, no simulations.
Havoc rateTFLs, sacks, passes defensed, forced fumbles per defensive snap.
Second-order winsThe record a team's play-by-play performance deserved.

Records and stats cover FBS-vs-FBS games only — the games the model grades. Every number comes from a leak-checked walk-forward pipeline — no retroactive edits, no deleted picks. Picks grade against the closing line. Rate stats exclude garbage time (win probability outside 5–95%); turnovers are counted whole. Not betting advice.