Louisville @ NC State preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 29, 2007 ) Louisville 29, North Carolina State 10

BELK BOWL STORYLINES:

1. Charlie Strong starts 10 freshmen at Louisville and began the season 2-4 before rallying to make a push for the Big East’s BCS bid. The Cardinals ultimately fell short, but ended up winning two straight on the road to finish the season and become bowl eligible.

2. North Carolina State had an even more improbable ascent to bowl eligibility, beating then-No. 7 Clemson on Nov. 19 to get to six wins and capping its regular season with the largest comeback in school history in a 56-41 victory over Maryland the following week. The Wolfpack came from four touchdowns behind and scored 35 points in the fourth quarter.

3. NC State will be hard-pressed to put up that kind of offense against the Cardinals, who have relied on a defense that allows an average of 19.2 points - the 14th-best mark in the nation.

4. The Cardinals will be playing in their second straight bowl game after beating Southern Miss in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl last December. The Wolfpack are marking two in a row as well. They took down Big East school West Virginia in the Citrus Bowl last season.

5. Louisville wide receiver Michaelee Harris will miss the Belk Bowl on Tuesday with a knee injury. Harris sustained the injury during practice and will not face North Carolina State. The freshman was the team leader in both receptions (37) and receiving yards (455). He also had two touchdowns. Eli Rogers and Josh Chichester are expected to see more playing time in Harris' absence.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: NC State -2.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (7-5, 5-2 Big East): The Cardinals began to turn their season around when true freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater found his stride. The Miami native ran for a pair of touchdowns in a 34-20 win over Connecticut on Nov. 19 that made Louisville bowl eligible and turned in his best game in the season finale against South Florida, passing for a career-high three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-24 win. The performance clinched Bridgewater the Big East Rookie of the Year Award.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (7-5, 4-4 ACC): The Wolfpack peaked at the right time, winning their final two games in dramatic fashion after suffering a loss to Boston College on Nov. 12. North Carolina State got some early experience against a Big East foe in a 44-14 loss at Cincinnati on Sep. 22. Senior Quarterback Mike Glennon threw five touchdown passes in the win over Maryland and totaled 28 this season against 11 interceptions.

PREDICTION: Louisville 24, NC State 17. The Cardinals have the talent on defense to shut down Glennon, forcing the Wolfpack to feature a suspect rushing attack.