NC State football game predictions: Louisville
NC State kicks off against Louisville at 7:00 p.m. ET Friday. The Wolfpack’S ACC home opener is a showdown between a pair of programs hoping to remain involved in the conference title race.
Last week, Louisville picked up an authoritative 56-28 win over Boston College that included 42 first half points. The Pack defeated UVA on a walk off 33-yard field goal by kicker Brayden Narveson.
This is a blackout game for Carter-Finley Stadium. The players will wear new uniforms, and the crowd should be rocking.
Here are TheWolfpacker.com staff’s predictions for this week 5 showdown.
Ethan McDowell’s prediction for NC State vs. Louisville
Louisville will challenge NC State’s defense in areas it has struggled all season. The Cardinals love pre-snap motion and play actioN, which will test the unit’s communication and eye discipline. Quarterback Jack Plummer and wide receiver Jamari Thrash have an electric connection going that will challenge the Wolfpack’s cornerbacks, and running back Jawhar Jordan is the ACC’s leading rusher as well.
The Cardinals will try to break through NC State’s secondary with explosive plays, which the program has struggled to eliminate all season. Over 4 games, Louisville is scoring 43 points per outing, but I predict an impressive defensive performance will hold the Pack’s ACC foe to 30.
Do I expect the Wolfpack to suddenly solve its defensive miscues? No, that would be unrealistic. The Cardinals will still break off a lot of long plays Friday. NC State will decide this game in the red zone. When the field is shorter and the Pack has less open space to defend, the team will lock down and hold the Cardinals to field goals.
On the other side of the ball, NC State will execute on its own red zone opportunities. Aided by a couple of forced turnovers by the Wolfpack defense, quarterback Brennan Armstrong will keep miscues to a minimum while once again leading the team in rushing, taking advantage of a quarterback rushing weakness Louisville’s defense showed at points against Boston College.
NC State’s offense will score touchdowns, and the defense will limit the Cardinals to field goals. Bolstered by a raucous home environment, the Pack will move to 2-0 in the ACC.
Prediction: NC State 31, Louisville 30
Previous Predictions:
NC State 31, UVA 13 (Actual: NC State 24, UVA 21)
NC State 45, VMI 0 (Actual: NC State 45, VMI 7)
Notre Dame 27, NC State 20 (Actual: Notre Dame 45, NC State 24)
NC State 24, UConn 10 (Actual: NC State 24, UConn 14)
Noah Fleischman’s prediction
After a tight win at Virginia last week, NC State has its hands full this Friday against Louisville. The Cardinals are undefeated and blew past Boston College 56-28 last week in their ACC opener.
Louisville’s offense is explosive. That will put strain on NC State’s banged up secondary, which is expected to be without safety Devan Boykin. The Wolfpack does have talent on the field at safety between Bishop Fitzgerald and Sean Brown, but its depth may be tested by the Cardinals’ deep threat attack.
NC State’s offense was shaky at times at Virginia last week, but it did enough to get the win. This week, the Wolfpack’s offense will most likely need to score more than 35 points to win the game with Louisville’s high-powered attack in town.
Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer has been near the top of the ACC in passing through the first four weeks, and if his hot play continues this week, it’ll be tough for NC State to keep up.
Prediction: Louisville 35, NC State 21
Previous Predictions:
NC State 31, UVA 10 (Actual: NC State 24, UVA 21)
NC State 52, VMI 3 (Actual: NC State 45, VMI 7)
