EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (2026): Louisville at NC State

Pregame Prep: Things to Know Before the Game

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET (Saturday)

TV / Radio: ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville

Uniforms: Red Heisman bird helmet / White jersey and pants

Last Time These Two Met:

Trailing 10-0 at halftime, Louisville rallied to tie the game in the third quarter. Jack Plummer hit Chris Bell on a sensational 39-yard touchdown pass to cut it to 10-7, then Brock Travelstead hit a 33-yard field goal on Louisville’s next drive to tie it at 10-10. Travelstead put Louisville ahead with a 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and Quincy Riley brought in an interception on NC State’s final drive to secure a 13-10 victory for the Cardinals.

Notable Numbers:

• Louisville leads the all-time series 9-4.
• Averaging nine penalties and 93 penalty yards per game, Louisville is on pace this season for 108 penalties (which would be fourth-most in program history) and 1,116 penalty yards (third-most in program history). They are currently 14th in the ACC in penalties, and T-15th in penalty yards.

First Down: Meet the 2026 NC State Wolfpack

Dave Doeren enters his 14th season, the second-longest head coaching tenure in ACC football currently. But in Doeren’s 14 seasons at NC State, the Wolfpack have not won more than nine games in a season.

The Wolfpack enter Saturday’s game with a 2-2 record, having beaten Appalachian State last weekend. They’ve lost their previous two games against Power Four competition, losing 34-8 to Virginia in week zero, and losing at Vanderbilt in one of the most inexplicable ways to ever lose a football game.

Second Down: NC State Offense

CJ Bailey enters his third year as the starting quarterback for the Wolfpack, and he’s coming off a solid 2025 campaign, completing 69% of his passes for 3,105 yards and throwing 25 touchdowns. He has a prototypical build at the position (6’6″, 210 lbs.), and he’s a good runner with decent accuracy downfield. However, he’s struggled with turnovers to start this season; Bailey has 22 career interceptions, and has five turnovers in four games to start this season.

Keenan Jackson has been NC State’s biggest threat in the passing game, logging two 100-yard games, including 102 yards and three scores against Vanderbilt in week three. Miami transfer Jojo Trader (11 rec., 129 yards) has a lot of potential as a former top 75 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class and was teammates with Bailey in high school, but hasn’t had a breakout game yet with the Wolfpack. Tight end Preston Douglas (14 rec., 167 yards, TD) has been a consistent target to start the season.

Despite losing Hollywood Smothers in the transfer portal to Texas, Duke Scott has stepped up and become a playmaker at running back for the offense. He is a shifty back with a strong second gear, coming off a 148-yard, two-touchdown performance against Appalachian State last week. Backup quarterback Will Wilson (28 carries, 139 yards, five TDs) has been a frequent contributor in the run game as well. They like to use Wilson in short yardage situations, but he has the speed and size to turn short yardage opportunities into big gains.

Players to Watch:

• QB CJ Bailey (67.3% completion, 893 yards, six TDs)
• QB Will Wilson (139 rushing yards, six total TDs)
• RB Duke Scott (346 rushing yards, four TDs)

Third Down: NC State Defense

Longtime defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot returned for his second season under Dave Doeren. So far though, it’s been a rough start for NC State’s defense; they’ve given up 30+ points in every game against FBS competition up to this point, as well as allowing 400 yards per game.

Eliot had to replace a ton of seniors from last year’s defense that was 14th in the ACC in total defense (411.9 YPG), and had to lean on several newcomers for this year’s defense. Miami transfer Popo Aguirre leads the team in tackles (37) and has more than double the next leading tackler. He’s been everywhere on the field and is productive, Louisville will have to keep tabs on him during pre-snap adjustments.

NC State hasn’t had a ton of success in terms of creating havoc, logging just four sacks (16th out of 17 ACC schools) and 13 tackles for loss (lowest in the conference). Freshman Elijah Satchell leads the team with two sacks, with sophomore Adrian Farrow (two TFLs and a sack) leading the interior. Brian Nelson II (15 tackles, PBU) and Jackson Vick (ten tackles, three PBUs, INT) return from last year’s squad to lead an experienced secondary group. King Mack (13 tackles, PBU) arrives in the portal from Penn State and adds depth to the secondary as well. NC State’s secondary has been gashed though; while they managed to get two interceptions against Vanderbilt by making good plays on the ball, the Wolfpack are allowing 8.9 yards per attempt against FBS competition.

Player to Watch:

• LB Popo Aguirre (37 tackles, FF)

Fourth Down: Keys to the Game

What will Louisville’s quarterback situation look like on Saturday?

The big story heading into Saturday will be the status of quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, who is officially listed as questionable in the ACC Injury Report on Wednesday. Louisville has a few more injury storylines to follow, including wide receiver Lawayne McCoy, safety Koen Entringer, and cornerback DJ Waller, who are all also listed as questionable.

Kienholz being able to play will be extremely crucial for Louisville, as NC State struggled at times with containing Beau Pribula’s legs against Virginia, and Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis was able to stretch the field and buy time with his legs.

If Kienholz is unable to go, expect Davin Wydner to get the start on Saturday. Louisville’s offensive gameplan will look more similar to the traditional Brohm offense; utilizing the inside zone to get Wydner going and leaning on an explosive passing game to flip field position and score points. NC State is giving up 7.4 yards per attempt, which on paper could give Louisville opportunities to attack the intermediate and deep passing game regularly.

Can Louisville’s run defense rebound from last week?

Putting aside the obvious issues that everyone (justifiably) wants to point out with Louisville’s defense (blown coverages, excessive and untimely penalties to name a couple), one area that I think Louisville needs to shore up against NC State is their run fits. Wake Forest was able to gash Louisville with inside runs last week, with Ty Clark scoring two touchdowns in their upset win over the Cardinals.

NC State’s path to victory could depend on if they can continue to run the ball effectively against Louisville. Scott and Wilson are guys that can extend drives and frustrate Louisville’s defense, so creating negative plays and forcing the offense into third-and-long situations will be crucial.