luckadjusted
CFB Week 4 · 2026

College football · Week 11 2026 · Saturday, November 14

Wake Forest vs SMU prediction and pick

Our Wake Forest Demon Deacons at SMU Mustangs pick: SMU by 7.2, 66% to win. The forecast rates every team against the opponents it has played, this season and last, and adds home field. No betting information goes in.

An early look, 7 weeks ahead: it sharpens as the game comes up. Updated every day until kickoff, then frozen and scored. After the game this page shows who deserved to win.

Why the curves are so wide: luck. Even with both teams’ strength known exactly, one game’s bounces, kicks, calls and sequencing move the final margin by about ±12.1 points (one standard deviation, measured from every play since 2019). These forecasts carry ±17.0, so about 50% of the width is that luck; the rest is what nobody knows yet about the teams. That is why a 7-point favorite still loses about 3 times in 10.

Wake Forest at SMU

Sat, Nov 14, time to be announced · Gerald J. Ford Stadium

SMU by 7.2 · 66% to win

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Wake Forest win33.5%
SMU win66.5%
Middle 50%: Wake Forest by 4 to SMU by 1950%
Middle 90%: Wake Forest by 21 to SMU by 3590%
Middle 95%: Wake Forest by 27 to SMU by 4195%
Exactly SMU by 36.4%
Exactly Wake Forest by 35.5%
Exactly SMU by 75.3%
Exactly SMU by 143.8%
Exactly Wake Forest by 73.7%
P50
Half of games like this end between Wake Forest by 4 and SMU by 19.
P90
9 in 10 between Wake Forest by 21 and SMU by 35.
P95
19 in 20 between Wake Forest by 27 and SMU by 41.
Where the forecast comes from
Home fieldSMU+3.1
This season, against its opponentsSMU+2.9
Last seasonSMU+1.1

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Wake Forest 3–1 2.1 +0.9
SMU 3–1 2.5 −0.3

Coin-flip wins: the wins each team’s games were worth with only the kicks, bounces, drops and calls re-rolled, the record adjusted for luck. Luck in wins: actual wins minus what the play was worth.

Wake Forest vs SMU: questions and answers

Who will win Wake Forest vs SMU?

Our forecast picks SMU, with 66% to win; Wake Forest win 34% of the time.

What’s the spread for Wake Forest vs SMU?

Our spread: SMU −7.2. The betting line isn’t out yet. Ours uses no betting information, so where the two differ is where our read of the teams differs from the market’s.

When is Wake Forest vs SMU?

Saturday, November 14, 2026 (kickoff time to be announced), at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.