As we head into the final few weeks of the 2016 college football season, there is more to consider than just which 4 teams will make the playoffs. We are at the stage of the season when the Heisman watch is on high alert, and you must say that it is Lamar Jackson’s to lose now. The Louisville QB has been about as close to unstoppable as it gets, and another performance like he put in against Boston College last week will probably put this race to bed. In the 52-7 win, Jackson rushed for 3 TD scores, and threw for 4 more. He also became the first QB in school history to rush for over 1000 yards in a single season. Records seem to fall every time this young man touches the ball, and the Cardinals are going to go as far as he can carry them. His stats have the bookies scrambling to come up with college football spreads for Louisville games, and they have the Cardinals in as 25-point favorites this weekend.
A Closer Look At The Week 11 College Football Predictions: Demon Deacons At Cardinals
When: Saturday, November 12 at 7 PM EST
Where: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville
TV: ESPNU
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
NCAAF Odds: TBA
Why bet on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The 6-3 Wake Forest Demon Deacons have been a pleasant surprise this season, but most of their success has come at home, as well as in non-conference games. They are just 3-2 in the ACC, but still look as though they might still be able to finish third in the division behind Clemson and Louisville. Wake Forest have been struggling over the past few weeks, and broke out of a 2-game losing skid with a win over Virginia last week despite only passing for 83 yards. The offense has been AWOL for 3 straight weeks, averaging just a little over 15 PPG. That is not going to get it done against a powerhouse Louisville offense.
Why bet on the Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals have put aside their disappointing loss to Clemson a few weeks ago, and have responded by reeling off 4 straight wins. As explosive as this offense is, they still have some issues with turning the ball over, which is quite simply happening too often. The good news is that the defense is holding up their end of the bargain by getting that ball back on a regular basis. Who knows how out of control games could get if the Cardinals could just protect the rock. Louisville is 5-3 ATS this season, but in games where they were favored by 31 points or more, they are just 1-2 ATS. The Cardinals have beaten the Demon Deacons by just a combined 11 points in the last two seasons.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
You look at the closeness of the last two meetings between these teams and you imagine a close game, but that changes when you add Lamar Jackson to the equation. Not sure that he can match his 7 TD performance from last week, but expect him to shine as the Cardinals fall just short of covering.
