RALEIGH, NC. – North Carolina State served notice it was a team to be reckoned with in late September when it toppled then-No. 11 Florida State in Tallahassee, and coach Dave Doeren's squad will get another chance to prove it has some staying power less than two weeks later.
The 24th-ranked Wolfpack eye their first 3-0 start in ACC play since 2002 and a fifth straight victory overall Thursday when they host No. 17 Louisville.
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"We're a lot more mature than we have been in the past. A lot of guys in the past would've been like 'Oh we beat the (No. 11) team so we don't have to come out as hard this week.' We just all executed exactly what we needed to do," N.C. State defensive end Bradley Chubb told reporters following last weekend's 33-25 win over Syracuse.
The victory gave the Wolfpack their first 2-0 start in the conference since 2006, leaving them as only one of two schools (Clemson) without a blemish in the ACC's Atlantic Division. In case his team needs any additional motivation on a short week, Doeren must only remind the Wolfpack of last season's 54-13 rout in which Louisville raced out to a 44-0 halftime advantage.
The Cardinals have outscored a pair of overmatched opponents (Kent State and FCS foe Murray State) 97-13 since their demoralizing 47-21 setback to No. 2 Clemson on Sept. 16 and have won six of the seven meetings versus N.C. State, including all three since joining the ACC.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Louisville -4
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ABOUT LOUISVILLE (4-1, 1-1 ACC):
Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, who is 13 yards away from becoming the seventh player in conference history to reach 10,000 total career yards, posted his program-best 16th 100-yard rushing game while also breaking Chris Redman's school mark (538) for career scoring (554) last time out. Dez Fitzpatrick finished with two touchdowns on four catches against Murray State and has scored six times on only 16 receptions, leaving him one TD catch shy of Arnold Jackson (1997) and Mario Urrutia (2005) for the most by a freshman receiver in school history. Preseason All-American cornerback Jaire Alexander, who suffered a knee injury in the season opener, practiced last week and is day-to-day, according to coach Bobby Petrino.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (4-1, 2-0):
Junior quarterback Ryan Finley owns the longest active streak of consecutive attempts without an interception at 257, ranks 23rd in the nation in passing yards per game (280.6) and ninth in FBS in completion percentage (ACC-high 71.9). Nyheim Hines, a 5-9, 197-pound track All-American, has transitioned smoothly to running back after being used as a flex player in his first two seasons and ranks fifth in the conference in rushing (411 yards) after setting a career high in rushing yards in each of the last three weeks. Chubb leads the conference with league-best 12 tackles for loss after 3.5 last week, increasing his career total to 46 and moving him into second place in school history behind Mario Williams (55.5).
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Cardinals yielded a combined 230 yards to Kent State and Murray State, the lowest two-game total allowed by Louisville since 1960.
2. The Wolfpack have not committed a fumble or thrown an interception during their winning streak and lead the ACC with a plus-six turnover margin.
3. Petrino is 14-0 against North Carolina-based schools.