Football Free Picks – Stanford Cardinal vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
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Saturday, September 12th
Groves Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC – 12:00 PM ET
Line: Wake Forest -3
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Stanford Cardinal heading into the season and they didn’t disappoint to start. They opened the season with a conference game on the road and they rolled up Washington State 39-13. 
Stanford: The Week That Was Quarterback Andrew Luck played caretaker as Toby Gerhart piled up 123 yards and two rushing touchdowns. The task stiffens this week as they head to face a much better team in the ACC.
Wake Forest: The Week That Was
Wake Forest is off of a 24-21 home loss to Baylor, which is a very discouraging start for the Demon Deacons. It looked like it would give Wake a leg up having senior quarterback Riley Skinner but he threw three interceptions in the opener, which essentially led to the loss. Delving deeper though, the Demon Deacons don’t have many offensive weapons and their running game is too mild. That has to change for this week if they want to avoid an 0-2 start.
The Week That Is:
The Cardinal stomped out the feeble Washington State Cougars last week but that team is very weak. The Demon Deacons are much closer to their level.
After a cursory look, it’s hard to like Wake Forest in this spot as they are coming off of a home loss to a team that’s worse than the one they are playing this week. Baylor is improving, but they aren’t quite at Stanford’s level. More importantly, Wake Forest looked very much like the team that predicted to finish fourth in their six-team ACC division in the first week. Typically, they play much better than their expectations, but maybe not this year – if you are going by their opening performance.
But at a closer look, there are plenty of reasons to take Wake. This is a very tough spot for Stanford. For starters, this will be their second consecutive road game and this one is a cross-country trip for a 12:00 PM ET start, which will feel like 9:00 AM ET for the West Coasters.
After a mistake-laden game, look for Wake Forest to come out extra sharp this week. Skinner is a veteran quarterback who will play much smarter and take advantage of an inexperienced Stanford secondary, which has three new starters this year.
Pick: Wake Forest -3
