Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. NC State Wolfpack
Louisville Cardinals (4-0, 2-0 ACC) at NC State (3-1, 1-0 ACC)
- Kickoff: Friday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.
- Weather Conditions: A mostly clear sky. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -3.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 8-4
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 25-10 on Nov. 19, 2022 (Cardinal Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)
Game Notes
Louisville
- Louisville and NC State will play for the first time since 1951 on a Friday night. Louisville is 16-13 all-time on Friday night after the 39-34 win over Georgia Tech to open the season.
- The Cardinals moved to 4-0 and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 56-28 win over Boston College on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals have won five in a row for the first time since the 2016 season.
- The Cardinals look to go 5-0 overall for the first time since 2013 and are attempting to go 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for first time since joining the league in 2014. The Cards are attempting to go 3-0 in league play for the first time since 2012 when they played in the BIG EAST Conference
- Louisville scored on its first seven drives of the game for the first time since scoring on its first seven drives in a 73-10 win over Murray State to open the 2007 season.
- Louisville scored 42 first-half for the first time since 2016 when the Cards raced out to a 44-0 lead over NC State in a 54-13 win over the Wolfpack. UofL totaled 374 yards in the first half, including 243 yards through the air. Quarterback Jack Plummer was 12-of-14 for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and running back Jawhar Jordan ran 14 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
- Louisville took a halftime lead of at least 21 points for the third-straight game for the first time since doing so in four straight games spanning the 1912 and 1913 seasons.
- Louisville totaled 582 yards of total offense and averaged a healthy 9.4 yards per play in the win over Boston College. Louisville recorded eight plays of over 30 or more yards in the game — five of which resulted in touchdowns. It’s the second time this season that the Cards have totaled more than 580 yards of total offense this season.
- Plummer accounted for six touchdowns, a career high five through the air, and passed for 388 yards in the win. Plummer completed 18-of-21 passes and had a string of 15-straight completions in the game —the fourth-longest streak in school history. His 388 passing yards were the most since Lamar Jackson passed for 393 yards in a win over North Carolina in 2017.
- Jordan recorded his third consecutive 100-yard game and the seventh of his career in the big victory. Jordan carried 18 times for 134 yards and two scores and caught one pass for a 75-yard touchdown.
- Linebacker Jaylin Alderman recorded a career high eight tackles to pace the defense.
- The Cards recorded seven pass-break-ups and held BC to just 21-of-42 passing.
- Louisville enters Friday night’s game averaging 43.0 points per game after scoring more than 39 points in three of the first four games. The 56 points scored against Boston College were tied for the fifth most in an ACC game since joining the league in 2014.
- Wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce caught three passes for 110 yards in the win over Boston College, averaging 36.7 yards per reception. It marked the second 100-yard game of his career after totaling 151 yards against Eastern Kentucky during the 2021 season
- Louisville brings one of the top rushing offenses into the game, averaging 237.2 yards per game. The Cards are averaging 6.0 yards per carry, which stands eighth in the country and have 12 scores through the first four contests.
- Running back Jawhar Jordan ranks eighth in rushing yards per game and touchdowns with 119.5 yards and 8, respectively, after four games. He recorded his third-straight 100-yard game and his seventh in the last nine games with 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Boston College. He’s averaging 9.6 yards per carry, which stands as the fourth-best mark in the nation.
- Jordan leads the nation with seven plays of scrimmage of over 30 yards and is the only player in the nation with three plays of over 70 yards. He has touchdown runs of 74 and 72 and has a pass reception for 75 yards. He ranks second nationally with 678 all-purpose yards after four games this season, and average of 157.8 yards per game
- Louisville leads all FBS teams in passes of 40+ yards and is tied for the lead in passes of 70+ yards.The Cardinals have scored six touchdowns this season of over 70 yards.
- After opening the season by going 1-for-11 on third down (0.9 percent), the Cardinals have improved by going 19-of-35 (54.3 percent) over the last three games. Louisville converted on 8-of-14 attempts in the win over Boston College.
- The trio of Jamari Thrash, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and Kevin Coleman have combined to catch 40 passes for 706 yards and eight touchdowns. The three have combined to average a solid 17.7 yards per reception this season.
NC State
- The Wolfpack has won its last seven ACC home openers. The last time NC State lost its first league game at home was in 2015. The opponent? Louisville (L, 13-20).
- Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren is just two wins from tying the school record for coaching victories.
- NC State ranks third in the FBS in consecutive season starts of 3-1 or better with 12.
- LB Payton Wilson leads the ACC in tackles (11.5/game). That mark ranks fifth in the FBS.
- Punter Caden Noonkester leads the league in punting with a 44.7 average (15th in the FBS).
- NC State leads the ACC in third down conversion defense (.300)
- The Wolfpack has won 17 of its last 19 games in Carter-Finley Stadium.
- True freshmen account for 33% of the Wolfpack’s reception in 2023.
- Quarterback Brennan Armstrong is NC State’s leading rusher.
- NC State has won 17 of its last 19 games in Carter-Finley Stadium. In 2022, NC State tied the school record for the longest home winning streak at 16 before falling in the last home game of the season. That streak, which tied the mark set under head coach Lou Holtz from 1972-75, was the sixth-best active home winning streak in the FBS at the time.
- Prior to the 2023 season, running back Delbert Mimms had never scored a rushing touchdown. In his 38 games played, his only collegiate score had come on a reception in 2022. Four games into the 2023 campaign, Mimms has as many carries as he had tallied in the four years prior with 27. And in those 27 carries, he has rushed for four touchdowns and leads the teams in TDs scored.
- Exactly a third of NC State’s receptions this season (33.3%) have been caught by true freshmen in 2023. KC Concepcion (22), Juice Vereen (4) and Kendrick Raphael (1) have 27 of the team’s 81 catches. That percentage is obviously mostly due to Concepcion - whose 22 receptions lead the team. The rookie ranks fifth in the ACC with 5.5 catches per game.
- Outside of two runs of 71 and 80 yards, NC State is holding opponents to an average of 2.49 yards per rush attempt in the opponent’s 123 other rushes (a figure that would rank third in the ACC and eighth in the FBS).
- NC State has 11 receivers listed on the depth chart at its four receiver positions: X, Z, IWR and FlexY. Those 11 receivers have combined to catch 39 career touchdowns, which sounds like a pretty good number. However, of those 11 receivers, five have never caught a touchdown pass and in fact, 30 of those touchdowns were at the hands of Bradley Rozner - who caught 28 before coming to NC State.
- It was no secret when Brennan Armstrong came to NC State that he was a quarterback who could run. During his five years at UVa he amassed 1,267 rushing yards - more than any QB in NC State history.
- Nine different players caught passes for NC State in the win at Connecticut and 10 different players caught passes vs. Notre Dame and VMI. For the season, 13 different receivers have caught passes.
- Quarterback Brennan Armstrong is the ACC’s all-time leader in passing yards by a left-handed quarterback with 9,893 yards. That mark ranks ninth in FBS history.
- For the season, cornerback Ayden White has eight tackles, including one sack, and a PBU. He missed the VMI game with an injury, but came back strong vs. Virginia, pulling down his first interception of the season. He now has seven INTs for his career
Depth Charts
Here are the depth charts for both teams ahead of their matchup: Louisville vs. NC State
Comparison
See how the Cardinals stack up against the Hoosiers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. NC State
Uniform Report
Louisville will be wearing white helmets and jerseys with red pants, while NC State will wear all black.
▫️ Week 5 Threads ▫️#GoCards pic.twitter.com/oMmI1jc14P
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) September 27, 2023
Black Out Carter-Finley#1Pack1Goal | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/DFUrVzw59n
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 25, 2023
Additional Coverage
- Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Boston College
- Jeff Brohm, Richard Owens and Louisville Players Recap Boston College, Preview NC State
- Louisville Preparing for 'Hostile Environment' at NC State in First True Road Game
- RB Jawhar Jordan Serving as Louisville's Early Offensive Spark Plug
- Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Inside Pack Sports' James Henderson
- Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. NC State
- From The Pink Seats: Episode 111 - BC Recap, NC State Preview
(Photo of Tyler Hudson: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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