Wake Forest lists receiver Carlos Hernandez and lineman Langston Hardy as questionable at Cal

No. 21 Wake Forest could be missing two of its most productive players when it visits Cal on Saturday. The ACC's first availability report for the game, released Wednesday night, lists two Demon Deacons starters as questionable, On3's Deacons Illustrated reported.

Cal On SI named the two: wide receiver Carlos Hernandez and defensive lineman Langston Hardy. Hernandez leads the country with 49 catches and ranks third nationally with 720 receiving yards. Hardy has been the front's most disruptive player, with 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries. Losing either would hurt. Losing both would take away Wake's top target in the passing game and its best source of pressure in the same week.

Cal has its own problems. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, running back Adam Mohammed and safety Kingston Lopa all sat out last week's win over Virginia Tech, and all three are questionable again. Lopa still leads the nation with five interceptions but could miss a third straight game with a concussion. Receiver Cooper Perry is also questionable, and defensive lineman Nate Burrell has already been ruled out. The first report is only a starting point. Statuses usually shift in the updates that come later in the week, so the final report is the one that will settle who plays.

What it means for Saturday

Wake Forest arrives at 5-1, with its only loss coming at home to No. 5 Miami. The Deacons have won three straight since then: 30-27 at No. 16 Louisville, 57-3 over Stanford and 38-14 at NC State last week. They are 3-0 on the road and average 36.8 points while giving up 21.5. Most of that offense has gone through Hernandez, so any limit on his snaps puts more on the rest of the receivers.

Cal is 3-3 and has split four home games, beating Wagner and Virginia Tech and losing to UCLA and Clemson. The Golden Bears held on 25-20 against the Hokies after a 39-31 loss at UNLV. They have scored 26.7 points a game and allowed 25.5. Whether Sagapolutele plays matters as much to Cal as Hernandez's status does to Wake.

The board on this site's game page, which tracks 10 venues, makes Wake Forest a clear favorite. Novig has the Deacons at -335 on the moneyline and Cal at +300. On the spread, Wake is favored by 9.5 at Novig at -100. The best Wake number anywhere is FanDuel's -8.5 at -115, a full point lower than Novig's line. Cal +9.5 is priced at -106 on Novig and -105 at Hard Rock Bet, the best price for the Bears. The total sits at 53.5, with the over at -106 and the under at -108 on Novig. Sportsbook hold runs from 4.0 to 7.0 percent across the markets. With both teams' key players still uncertain, expect those numbers to move as the availability reports are updated.

Kickoff is Saturday, October 17, on ESPN2.