By nightfall on Oct. 31, just as trick-or-treaters take to the streets, Virginia's football team will have had a chance to exorcise one of its demons.
Demon Deacons, in this case.
The Cavaliers' Halloween day game at Wake Forest will kick off at 3:45 p.m., the Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Monday. It will be broadcast by either ESPN or ESPN2. That determination will be made after this weekend's games.
Wake will be a formidable foe
Wake Forest (6-1, 4-1 ACC) is ranked 17th in this week's Associated Press poll and 19th by the coaches. The Demon Deacons have won four straight games, the last three by substantial margins over Stanford (57-3), NC State (38-14), and California (41-7).
The Deacons also handed Virginia its only regular-season ACC loss a year ago, 16-9 in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers lost starting quarterback Chandler Morris to a concussion early in that game and failed to score a touchdown for the first time in 2025.
Wake Forest's offense revolves around starting quarterback Gio Lopez, who has thrived after struggling at North Carolina last season, and receiver Carlos Hernandez. Lopez has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 1,947 yards and 17 touchdowns, with just one interception.
Hernandez ranks third in the ACC in receptions (49) and yardage (720). He has four touchdown catches.
Wake's defense ranks fifth in the ACC, allowing just 19.4 points per game.
Besides having home-field advantage, the Deacons will be coming off a bye week when they host the Cavaliers. Virginia leads the all-time series 35-18, including a 31-30 victory in its last trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., in 2024. The series dates back to 1889.
Virginia (4-3, 2-2 ACC) hopes to enter the game with a chance to become bowl-eligible for the second straight season. Before visiting Winston-Salem, the Cavaliers will host Duke (4-2, 1-2 ACC) this Friday night in a nationally televised game on ESPN. It will be a rematch of the 2025 ACC championship game, won by the Blue Devils in overtime.
At Wake Forest, Virginia will also be looking for its first victory away from Scott Stadium this season. The Cavaliers fell 38-27 to West Virginia at a neutral site in Charlotte, N.C., last month, then lost true road games at Florida State (38-7) and SMU (23-13).
The Wake Forest game will be Virginia's next-to-last road date of the season. The Cavaliers will host California on Nov. 14 and North Carolina on Nov. 21 before finishing the season at Virginia Tech on Nov. 28th.
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