NC State @ Louisville preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 5, 2017 ) Louisville 25, NC State 39

Louisville begins the post-Bobby Petrino era by welcoming North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon. Petrino was let go on Sunday along with three other coaches, two days after the Cardinals lost 54-23 at Syracuse for their seventh consecutive defeat.

Safeties coach Lorenzo Ward takes over the team on an interim basis and will have his hands full in trying to get the Cardinals to at least be competitive over their final two games of the season. Louisville is in the midst of a five-game stretch against ACC competition where it has lost by 18 points or more. NC State suffered a crushing 27-23 home loss to Wake Forest last week in a game where it was a 19-point favorite and held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Demon Deacons quarterback Jamie Newman, who was making his first start, threw a touchdown pass with 30 seconds remaining to pull off the upset and send the Wolfpack tumbling out of the Top 25 rankings.

TV: 12:20 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: North Carolina State -16.5.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (6-3, 3-3 ACC): Not much went right for the Wolfpack against Wake Forest, but the rushing game was particularly bad as it managed just 47 yards against one of the ACC’s worst rushing defenses. "I take responsibility any time my team doesn't play the way that it can, and I do," coach Dave Doeren told reporters after the game. The Wolfpack have lost three of four and will have to win their final three regular-season games (at Louisville, at North Carolina, East Carolina) and its bowl game to reach 10 wins for the second time in school history.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (2-8, 0-7): Put simply, Louisville is the worst team in the ACC and having one of its worst years in school history. Offensively, the Cardinals rank dead last in the conference in points per game (21.7) and yards per game (352). Defensively, they rank dead last in the conference and 126th out of 130 Division I teams in giving up an average of 42.1 points per game and have allowed 50 or more points in five of 10 games, including each of their last three.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Petrino finishes with a 77-35 record in two stints as head coach at Louisville, including a 36-26 mark between 2014-2018.

2. NC State gave up 11 tackles for a loss against Wake Forest.

3. Louisville has recorded only nine sacks this season, including only four in ACC play.

PREDICTION: North Carolina State 52, Louisville 17