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The Merrimack Warriors take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EST on ACC Network.
Wake Forest is favored by -48 points on the spread with a moneyline of -. The total is set at 59.5 points.
Here’s my Merrimack vs. Wake Forest prediction and college football pick for Saturday, November 7, 2026.
Merrimack vs Wake Forest Prediction
- Merrimack vs. Wake Forest Pick: Merrimack +47.5
My Wake Forest vs. Merrimack best bet is on the Demon Deacons to cover the spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Merrimack vs Wake Forest Odds
| Merrimack Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+47.5 -110 | 58.5 -112o / -108u | |
| Wake Forest Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-47.5 -110 | 58.5 -112o / -108u | |
- Merrimack vs Wake Forest point spread: Wake Forest -47.5 (-110 ), Merrimack +47.5 (-110)
- Merrimack vs Wake Forest over/under: 58.5 (-112o / -108u)
- Merrimack vs Wake Forest moneyline: Merrimack -, Wake Forest –
Merrimack vs Wake Forest College Football Preview
Merrimack Warriors Betting Preview
Merrimack is not a great football team out of the FCS ranks, and at 4-5 overall, the team has run out of time to make noise as an FCS Independent in 2026. The Warriors are off back-to-back wins over New Hampshire and Wagner, however, and should be playing with a decent amount of confidence.
The run-heavy offense has found success at the FCS level, with Matthais Latham running for 626 yards on 5.1 yards per carry. Quarterback AJ Hairston is the 2nd leading rusher with 295 yards on the ground, and he leads the team with five rushing touchdowns.
The passing game has not been strong, but it has improved the last three weeks. Hairston is completing 55% with 1362 passing yards, and he has played with renewed confidence against Dartmouth, New Hampshire, and Wagner.
This week against Wake Forest obviously provides different challenges, but there is hope that the Warriors can move the football a little bit and register between 10-15 first downs, which should lead to crossing midfield 2-3 times.
The defense has been strong against the run as Merrimack is allowing just 107 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry this season. The secondary has been passed on, and the Warriors have faced excellent passing offenses this season, including Yale, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Tarleton State. The challenge this week will be to prevent the explosive plays through the air, as the Warriors are not likely to register a tremendous amount of havoc.
This coverage unit will be stressed a bit here, but if the big plays can be kept within reason, and Wake is forced to be methodical on offense, Merrimack could be in good shape for a while defensively.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Betting Preview
Wake Forest has been one of the hottest teams in America, and now, with injury developments going on with Miami, the Deacs have to be taken seriously as a threat to win the conference. Wake is on a five-game conference win streak, and the last four games have been blowout victories over Stanford, NC State, California, and Virginia.
The win against the Wahoos last week came at a cost, however, as starting quarterback Gio Lopez exited the game late in the third quarter and did not return after going down with an apparent knee injury.
Head coach Jake Dickert would not specify the status of Lopez, along with three other starters who are questionable here in this homecoming bout. He doesn’t have to, as this is a non-conference game against an FCS opponent. The injury was uncomfortable to watch, and I cannot imagine rushing Lopez back just to stick it to Merrimack, so I would plan for Gio in limited quantities or for freshman Steele Pizzella to get the call here in this one.
The offense will be just fine handing the ball off to Ty Clark or Deuce Lawrence, and these two will find holes on the ground. The offensive line is going to have little trouble here in this game against the Warriors, as Wake has run for 529 yards the last two weeks against ACC competition.
The Demon Deacons have three exquisite receivers in Carlos Hernandez, Jack Foley, and Kam Shanks, and they are all explosive from anywhere on the field. I would be interested to see how the timing looks with a backup QB that hasn’t played all that much, but Wake will score a decent amount of points in this matchup.
The defense has been exceptional all season and ranks among the best in the ACC in overall defense, coverage grades, and run stopping. The havoc forced has not been outstanding, and Wake has only forced five turnovers this season, but the defense is disciplined, stout against the run, and rarely makes mistakes. Expect a good showing from the starting platoon in the first half before they watch from the sidelines in the second half, giving way to the second string.
Merrimack vs Wake Forest Pick, Betting Analysis
This line opened up with Wake Forest listed as a 48.5-point favorite in the contest with a total of 58.5. I bet Merrimack early in the week, and the play has been logged in the Action App. The line has ticked down slightly to 47.5.
There is a lot going on here from a scheduling spot perspective, which makes it tough for me to imagine that Wake Forest wants to cover a nearly seven-touchdown spread in this game. The first is that this is homecoming, and this is an opportunity to get the game to a comfortable margin and get all the young guys some experience.
Wake Forest has battled some injuries this season, and avoidance of the injury bug has to be the number one goal outside of winning the game. There was some message board fodder out there about trying to win this game by 60 points to try to impress the playoff committee, but a 40-point win or 60-point win against Merrimack is all the same here. It simply doesn’t matter how many points they win by against a middling FCS team.
I don’t think Lopez is going to go in this game, and if he does, his production should be limited. I could see a very conservative game plan for Wake featuring a heavy dose of run-action. The second half should be a slow-burning grind here, as Merrimack is going to run the ball a lot, and they could have success in the second half against the Wake backups.
Merrimack is 4-1 ATS against FBS competition, and this team went to FCS #1-ranked Tarleton State earlier this year and covered a huge spread while losing 45-20. The Warriors will not score 20 points here, but I wouldn’t be stunned to see them punch in a touchdown. 49-7 final.
Pick: Merrimack +47.5
