Wake Forest visits SMU in top-25 ACC matchup

No. 11 Wake Forest (8-1) at No. 25 SMU (7-2), Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. EST.

Opening Line: Wake Forest by 2.5. Against the spread: Wake Forest 7-2, SMU 4-4-1.

How to watch: ESPN

Key stats

Wake Forest Offense

Overall: 487.7 yards per game (9th in FBS)

Passing: 311.9 yards per game (10th)

Rushing: 175.8 yards per game (43rd)

Scoring: 43.3 points per game (4th)

Wake Forest Defense

Overall: 310.0 yards per game (24th in FBS)

Passing: 225.0 yards per game (86th)

Rushing: 85.0 yards per game (8th)

Scoring: 15.9 points per game (13th)

SMU Offense

Overall: 478.6 yards per game (11th in FBS)

Passing: 323.8 yards per game (6th)

Rushing: 154.8 yards per game (70th)

Scoring: 37.0 points per game (19th)

SMU Defense

Overall: 319.8 yards per game (27th in FBS)

Passing: 193.9 yards per game (42nd)

Rushing: 125.9 yards per game (45th)

Scoring: 22.9 points per game (53rd)

Both teams perform well on third down. Wake Forest is 9th in the FBS, converting 51.4% of the time. SMU ranks 19th, converting 47.7%.

SMU ranks 105th in the FBS with a -4 turnover margin, compared to Wake Forest's 28th-ranked +4 margin.

Wake Forest ranks last in the FBS with 83.2 penalty yards per game.

SMU is 120th in FBS in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score on 91.3% of trips. Wake Forest's red zone offense ranks 13th, scoring on 93.5% of red zone opportunities.

Team leaders

Wake Forest

Passing: Gio Lopez, 2,176 yards, 18 TDs, 1 INT, 67.1 completion percentage

Rushing: Ty Clark, 416 yards on 86 carries, 8 TDs

Receiving: Carlos Hernandez, 945 yards on 61 catches, 7 TDs

SMU

Passing: Kevin Jennings, 2,784 yards, 25 TDs, 6 INTs, 73.9 completion percentage

Rushing: Kendrick Raphael, 760 yards on 150 carries, 10 TDs

Receiving: Yamir Knight, 626 yards on 50 catches, 6 TDs

Last game

Wake Forest won 77-0 over Merrimack on Nov. 7. Steele Pizzella threw for 432 yards on 23-of-28 attempts (82.1%) with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also carried the ball seven times for 63 yards and one rushing touchdown. Kyndall McCaleb had 42 rushing yards on two carries, adding one reception for 11 yards. Jack Foley had six receptions for 162 yards.

SMU won 51-28 over Virginia Tech on Nov. 6. Jennings led SMU with 350 yards on 24-of-32 passing (75.0%) for four touchdowns and one interception. Christian Rhodes carried the ball seven times for 92 yards, adding one reception for five yards. Knight had six receptions for 103 yards and three touchdowns.

Next game

Wake Forest plays at Georgia Tech on Nov. 21. SMU plays at No. 3 Notre Dame on Nov. 21.