No. 14 Wake Forest routs Virginia 51-7
Team pages: Virginia · Wake Forest
No. 14 Wake Forest routed Virginia 51-7. Share this game
We had Wake Forest favored. It won.
Next: Virginia vs California, Sat Nov 14
Next: Wake Forest vs Merrimack, Sat Nov 7 · 3:30 PM ET
How it swung
Before kickoff, our ratings gave Wake Forest an 82% chance, and the closing betting line (Wake Forest was a 13.5-point favorite) put it at 86%.
Wake Forest 51-7 Virginia
Wake Forest wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.
Virginia 7-51 Wake Forest
Virginia lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (Wake Forest -13.5), at 87% for Wake Forest (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.Watch the plays
The bar and the arrow show Wake Forest’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.
Q1, 12:29Clark 2-yd TD runWake Forest goes ahead 7-0Q1, 12:29 · Wake Forest 7, Virginia 0▲3%Wake Forest’s chance to win, 91% to 94%▲3%Wake Forest’s chance to win, 91% to 94%▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q1, 7:52Pribula intercepted by Johnson at the WFU35Q1, 7:52 · Wake Forest 7, Virginia 07-0score after the play7-0score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q1, 4:12Lopez sacked for a 5-yd lossQ1, 4:12 · Wake Forest 7, Virginia 07-0score after the play7-0score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q2, 11:33Clark 4-yd TD runWake Forest leads 17-0Q2, 11:33 · Wake Forest 17, Virginia 0▲4%Wake Forest’s chance to win, 95% to 99%▲4%Wake Forest’s chance to win, 95% to 99%▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q2, 2:40Lopez sacked for a 11-yd lossQ2, 2:40 · Wake Forest 17, Virginia 017-0score after the play17-0score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q3, 8:48Pribula sacked for a 11-yd lossQ3, 8:48 · Wake Forest 23, Virginia 023-0score after the play23-0score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q3, 7:07Lopez 10-yd TD pass to HernandezWake Forest leads 30-0Q3, 7:07 · Wake Forest 30, Virginia 030-0score after the play30-0score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q3, 4:24Clark 2-yd TD runWake Forest leads 37-0Q3, 4:24 · Wake Forest 37, Virginia 037-0score after the play37-0score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q3, 1:57Searcy 7-yd TD runWake Forest leads 44-0Q3, 1:57 · Wake Forest 44, Virginia 044-0score after the play44-0score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q3, 0:50Pribula 47-yd TD pass to Martincuts it to 44-7Q3, 0:50 · Wake Forest 44, Virginia 744-7score after the play44-7score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Q4, 9:08McCaleb 27-yd TD run; unnecessary roughness on UvaWake Forest leads 51-7Q4, 9:08 · Wake Forest 51, Virginia 751-7score after the play51-7score after the play▶Watch from this playESPN College Football
Every drive
Wake Forest scored on 9 of its 10 drives; Virginia on 1 of its 11.
Wake Forest’s drives are teal, Virginia’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
When fans got loud
Roaring
The loudest stretch came in the third quarter.
The jump was roaring; the crowd was quiet.
Fans of both teams were loud at once in the bracketed stretch.
“Shades of what happened to Morris last year, get off your high horse”
What it cost
Wake Forest’s chance to make the playoff rose from 9% to 12%.
Make the playoff
Win the conference
Before the game (October 30, 2026) → after this result alone, in our model. Other games that weekend move it too, so the team page may differ.
Wake Forest plays vs Merrimack on Sat Nov 7 with a 12% chance to make the playoff.
Box score
Wake Forest 51, Virginia 7
Wake Forest covered −13.5 by 30.5. The total, 58, went over 48.5.
| Team totals | Virginia | Wake Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 330 | 538 |
| Passing | 32 of 45, 314 yds | 13 of 21, 229 yds |
| Rushing | 19 for 16 yds | 51 for 309 yds |
| First downs | 18 | 28 |
| Third down | 1 of 12 | 9 of 14 |
| Fourth down | 3 of 7 | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 4 for 42 yds | 3 for 45 yds |
| Time of possession | 26:17 | 33:43 |
Virginia leaders
- Passing Beau Pribula 20 of 29, 212 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing Solomon Beebe 3 for 9 yds; Beau Pribula 7 for 7 yds
- Receiving Dashawn Martin 9 for 119 yds, 1 TD; Jacquon Gibson 4 for 59 yds
Wake Forest leaders
- Passing Giovanni Lopez 13 of 21, 229 yds, 1 TD
- Rushing Jamar Searcy 8 for 78 yds, 1 TD; Giovanni Lopez 13 for 64 yds
- Receiving Carlos Hernandez 8 for 136 yds, 1 TD; Drayden Dickmann 1 for 47 yds
No rain and calm
64° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 4 mph from the north-northeast, gusts to 12
October game-day temperatures at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
Drag along the chart, or step through the game.
Where this weather comes from
Measured at Winston-salem/smith_(asos) airport, 1.8 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last three games
Virginia · 4-4
Rated 56th in our preseason ratings, 63rd now.
1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
Last three games
Wake Forest · 6-1
Rated 81st in our preseason ratings, 24th now, up 57 spots.
Three straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.
Week by week
Wake Forest
- Wk 3Lvs Miami20-33
- Wk 4Wat Louisville30-27
- Wk 5Wvs Stanford57-3
- Wk 6Wat NC State38-14
- Wk 7Wat California41-7
Virginia
- Wk 4Wvs Delaware42-3
- Wk 5Lat Florida State7-38
- Wk 6Wvs Syracuse28-25
- Wk 7Lat SMU13-23
- Wk 8Lvs Duke16-19
Power rating by week
Wake Forest is rated 5.5 points ahead as of week 8. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
Matchups
Biggest mismatch: Virginia’s explosive plays against Wake Forest, 86 points
Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.
Virginia’s explosive plays against Wake Forest’s defense
Virginia offense, 11th percentile · Wake Forest defense, 97th
Wake Forest’s rushing EPA against Virginia’s defense
Wake Forest offense, 98th percentile · Virginia defense, 37th
Wake Forest’s EPA/play against Virginia’s defense
Wake Forest offense, 99th percentile · Virginia defense, 51st
Season profile, all the rows
Season profile
The series
Virginia leads the series 34-18
52 meetings since 1911 · Wake Forest won the last meeting
- 2025Wake Forest 16-9
- 2024Virginia 31-30
- 2021Wake Forest 37-17
- 2020Wake Forest 40-23
- 2016Wake Forest 27-20
Each line is Wake Forest’s chance to win through that meeting. Wake Forest is 2-1 in the meetings since 2018 that were still close in the fourth quarter. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Wake Forest fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (80th percentile among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.
Wake Forest favored by 13.5 · Total 48.5
How games like this usually go
Wake Forest by 13.5, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 448 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.
The market
The total fell 1 point.
Total: 49.5 → 48.5
The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds
Home field
Wake Forest is worth +1.5 points (±4.4) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom third of FBS, 11th percentile.
55% at home, 53% on the road against FBS opponents (26-21 home, 24-21 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.9 at home vs. away over 99 games — inside the ±6.3 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
The visitors travel about 163 miles to get here.
Last meeting in our History pages
- Wake Forest 16, Virginia 9Nov 8, 2025
Where next
Conference standings
Going into this game: place in the conference, then conference record.
- Wake Forest2nd4-1
- Virginia11th2-3