NC State Going For Their Fifth Win Of The Season As They Host #17 Louisiville
The team in Raleigh gets the early start this week as NC State will host number seventeen Louisville at Carter Finley Stadium Thursday night under the lights.
NC State has a record of 4-1 while they're 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division will be looking for their fifth win of the season as they host #17 Louisville who also has a record of 4-1 while they're 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division. "according tohttp://www.theacc.com/index.aspx?path=football
Although there have been just six opportunities, NC State has never won a regular season game against Louisville. The only Wolfpack win in the series came in the 2011 Belk Bowl, which the Pack won 31-24. The Cardinals have visited Carter-Finley Stadium just twice, winning 20-13 in 2015 and 29-10 in 2007. RANKED: NC State is ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll this week for the first time since the final poll of the 2010 season. During that campaign, the Russell Wilson-led Wolfpack appeared in the poll three separate times during the season, then in the final poll, checking in with a high ranking of No. 21 and fin he season ranked 25th. The Wolfpack checks in at No. 24 in the AP and Amway Coaches polls this week. RANKED VS. RANKED: The last time a rank. "according to http://www.gopack.com/documents/2017/10/3//Louisville_Notes.pdf?id=16339
Wolfpack hosted a ranked opponent was during Philip Rivers’ freshman season: 2000. That year, No. 21 NC State hosted No. 6 Florida State and was handed a 58-14 loss. The Wolfpack got revenge the next two seasons, beating the ‘Noles when they were No. 10 in 2001 -and No. 14 in 2002. THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Seven of NC State’s Thursday night ESPN games have been vs. top 25 teams and the Wolfpack has posted a 4-3 mark in those contests. The Wolfpack is making its first appearance on ESPN’s Thursday night game since Dave Doeren’s first season - 2013. That year, the Pack lost 26-14 to No. 3 Clemson at Carter-Finley Stadium. "according to tohttp://www.gopack.com/documents/2017/10/3//Louisville_Notes.pdf?id=16339
NC State’s 33-25 win over Syracuse marked the 200th for NC State in Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack now posts a 200-112-6 mark in the venue, which opened on Oct. 8, 1966. "according to http://www.gopack.com/documents/2017/10/3//Louisville_Notes.pdf?id=16339
Last week’s win over Syracuse also marked the first time NC State has opened the season 2-0 in ACC play in 11 seasons. In 2006, Chuck Amato led his team to victories over No. 20 Boston College and No. 17 Florida State to open league action. #BLACKHOWL: The Wolfpack will debut its Black Howl uniform on Thursday night. "according to http://www.gopack.com/documents/2017/10/3//Louisville_Notes.pdf?id=16339
The Wolfpack will debut its Black Howl uniform on Thursday night versus Louisville. The black uniform with silver numbers depicts what happens to the Wolfpack on a full moon (and according to the Farmers’ Almanac, the moon is going to be full on Oct. 5!). The uniform boasts silver instead of the traditional white to represent the light of a full moon and the black-grey color of a night wolf. The Pack’s traditional stripes grow fangs. Sharp points extending across the shoulder and onto the body of the uniform. Special number typography (the “Fang Font”) was developed with different left and right number sets to represent fangs, a wolf’s show of intimidation. Although this will mark the first time out for Black Howl, the Pack has worn black before under Dave Doeren. The Pack donned its #PackInBlack uniforms for wins versus Old Dominion in 2014 and Eastern Kentucky in 2015 and wore black jerseys in a win over Wake Forest in 2014 and a one-touchdown loss to Louisville that in 2015. HOLDING ON: NC State’s only loss this season, by one touchdown against C State’s only loss this season, by one touchdown against South Carolina in the season opener, was a direct result of two Wolfpack turnovers. Both of the Pack’s miscues in that game led to Gamecock touchdowns. Lesson learned. That marks the first time in school history (or at least since 1959 when game-by-game records started being kept), that the Wolfpack has not committed a turnover in four straight games. For the entire 2016 season, the Pack only had one game without a turnover and five games into 2017, already have four. In the last four outings, the Wolfpack has forced six turnovers and now ranks 15th in the FBS into margin with a 1.20 mark. The Pack ranks 3rd nationally in fewest turnovers and is one of just five teams in the FBS that has not thrown an interception in 2017. STUFFING THE RUN: The Pack ranks 8th in the FBS this week in rushing defense, allowing just 85.6 yards per game. The highest individual rushing performance by a Wolfpack opponent was 73 yards (Keion Davis of Marshall). The Wolfpack finished the 2016 campaign ranked 8th nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 108.6 yards per game. FOURTH-QUARTER FINISH: In the fifth game of the season vs. Syracuse, the Wolfpack allowed its first fourth-quarter touchdown of the season. In fact, the Pack’s first four opponents have combined to gain just 237 yards (an average of just 47.4 yards) in the fourth frame. The Wolfpack has pulled down two interceptions, forced and recovered a fumble and tallied four sacks in the fourth quarter so far this season. OPPONENTS IN THE 4TH Category Rush Pass Tot S.C. -6 22. "according to http://www.gopack.com/documents/2017/10/3//Louisville_Notes.pdf?id=16339
As for NC State's last game, they edged Syracuse,
NC State is on a roll as have won two straight games while leading both in Tallahassee against Florida State last week and at Carter Finley Stadium against Syracuse Saturday.
Can they keep this pace up heading into their Thursday night game against Louisville?
Leading from start to finish for the second week in a row in conference action, NC State started ACC play 2-0 with a 33-25 win over Syracuse at Carter-Finley Stadium. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
Celebrating its annual Military Appreciation Day, NC State came out of the gates hot and scored on each of its first five possessions in building a 26-7 halftime lead. P Carson Wise hit back-to-back field goals to start the scoring, and Ryan Finley found Stephan Louis for a 20-yard TD pass to cap the first quarter scoring as the Pack jumped out to a 13-0 lead. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
Syracuse got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, but NC State notched back-to-back TD runs - Reggie Gallaspy 10 yards and Jaylen Samuels 16 yards - to close out the first half scoring. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
Syracuse scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter, cutting NC State's lead to 26-17 entering the fourth. The Pack iced the game on the first possession of the fourth when Nyheim Hines punched in a 1-yard score with just over nine minutes to play. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
Syracuse tacked on another TD with under five minutes left and cut the lead to a single possession, but after a missed onside kick, NC State ran out the clock the rest of the way with a pair of first downs to improve to 3-0 at home this season. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE – 1st half
5 plays, 70 yards in 1:04 – Ryan Finley to Stephen Louis 20-yard TD pass "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
Holding a 6-0 lead after back-to-back field goals on its first two possessions, NC State scored its first touchdown of the game with 0:25 left in the second quarter. The Pack went 70 yards in only five plays in 1:04. NC State took advantage of 27 Syracuse penalty yards and had a Jaylen Samuels 22-yard rush and Ryan Finley to Stephan Louis 20-yard pass for the TD to jump out to a 13-0 lead. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE – 2nd half
10 plays, 65 yards in 5:02 – Nyheim Hines 1-yard TD run "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
After Syracuse scored 10 unanswered points to start the second half, the Wolfpack iced the ACC win with a TD early in the fourth quarter. Going 65 yards in 10 plays, RB Nyeheim Hines finished off the drive with a 1-yard TD score to push the lead to 33-17 with 9:52 left in the game. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
STAT LEADERS
QB Ryan Finley
20-of-33 for 186 yards, 1 TD
5 rushes for 37 yards
RB Nyheim Hines
19 rushes for 115 yards, 1 TD
H-Back Jaylen Samuels
5 catches for 37 yards
9 rushes for 74 yards, 1 TD
WR Jakobi Myers
7 catches for 57 yards
WR Stephen Louis
4 catches for 67 yards, 1 TD
LB Jerod Fernandez
14 tackles, 7 solo
DE Bradley Chubb
8 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 2 sacks
"according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
NOTABLEShttp://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
The win was #200 at Carter-Finley Stadium for NC State. "according to
NC State starts ACC action 2-0 for the first time since the 2006 season. NC State also starts the season 4-1 for the fourth straight year under Dave Doeren
For the fifth straight game to open 2017, NC State took its opening offensive possession down for a score – today was a 26-yard Carson Wise field goal. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
For the third straight week, RB Nyheim Hines set a new career-high in rushing yards. For the first time in his career, and the first time for a Wolfpack player this year, Hines went over the century mark and finished with 115 yards. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
DE Bradley Chubb finished with 3.5 tackles for loss on the day, which brings his career total to 46 and moves him into second place in the NC State record books only behind Mario Williams (55.5). Chubb has tackles for loss in every game this season thus far. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
QB Ryan Finley increased his nation-best streak with most attempts without an INT, now reaching 246 dating back to last season. He moved into third place in ACC history, 24 away from second. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
"First, I want to say thank you to our fans. I thought it was an awesome atmosphere for Military Appreciation Day. At one point during a dead ball, I looked up and kind of just took it all in. It was a good win for our team. It wasn't pretty in the second half at all, but we got to 2-0 in ACC play, something we haven't done in 11 years, so we're happy about that. Defensively, we knew it was going to be tough. They average 35 points per game, and we held them to 25." - NC State head coach Dave Doeren "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/9/30/football-five-straight-scoring-drives-in-first-half-lead-to-33-25-win-over-syracuse.aspx
As for Louisville's last game, they ran past Murray State,
Lamar Jackson had a short but productive day, throwing for 249 yards and three touchdowns after playing in just over a half and No. 17 Louisville routed Murray State 55-10 on Saturday. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2017/9/30/football-jackson-no-17-cardinals-make-quick-work-of-murray-state.aspx?path=football
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, who had just one play after halftime, added 100 yards rushing and a TD on seven carries. He's now just 13 yards short of becoming the seventh player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to reach 10,000 total career yards. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2017/9/30/football-jackson-no-17-cardinals-make-quick-work-of-murray-state.aspx?path=football
Jawon Pass stepped in after Jackson's day ended, throwing for 115 yards and one touchdown and adding another TD on the ground with 29 seconds left in the game. The two completed passes to 14 separate players as the Cardinals (4-1) totaled 364 yards through the air. Louisville rolled up 312 yards on the ground." according to http://gocards.com/news/2017/9/30/football-jackson-no-17-cardinals-make-quick-work-of-murray-state.aspx?path=football
The Cardinals led 35-3 at halftime as they held the Racers (1-4) to eight rushing yards in the first half. The Racers' only touchdown came after Pass fumbled the snap on the first play in the third quarter and defensive back Jason Johnson recovered and returned it 23 yards for the score. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2017/9/30/football-jackson-no-17-cardinals-make-quick-work-of-murray-state.aspx?path=football
At halftime, the Louisville men's basketball team received a more than 90-second standing ovation from the crowd of 47,826 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The school announced David Pagett as the team's interim coach on Friday. The school has acknowledged its involvement in a federal investigation and placed head basketball coach Rick Pitino on unpaid administrative leave. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2017/9/30/football-jackson-no-17-cardinals-make-quick-work-of-murray-state.aspx?path=football
THE TAKEAWAY
Murray State: The Ohio Valley Conference school was easily outclassed by the Cardinals. After gaining just 88 yards in a loss to Austin Peay last week, the Racers got only 80 against Louisville. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2017/9/30/football-jackson-no-17-cardinals-make-quick-work-of-murray-state.aspx?path=football
Louisville: As the game became a blowout early, the Cardinals got to spread the ball around. In all, 14 receivers caught a pass, with 10 hauling in multiple catches. Freshman Corey Reed posted a team-high 94 yards on his four catches." according to http://gocards.com/news/2017/9/30/football-jackson-no-17-cardinals-make-quick-work-of-murray-state.aspx?path=football
Will Dave Doeren's team give Lousiville all they can handle? Will Lousiville make short work of NC State like they did to their previous opponent Murray State?
Kick-off is set for 8 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN. "according to http://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=football