Unbeaten Louisville hits the road to take on NC State on Friday night in NCAA week 5 action, with the Cardinals coming in as the favorites in this ACC matchup. The point spread has Louisville at after last week’s blowout win over Boston College, while the North Carolina State Wolfpack are slight underdogs at on the moneyline odds.
Friday’s game goes down at 7:30 p.m. ET at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the betting lines for the Louisville vs. NC State game, along with props and the latest injury news.
Louisville looking to stay undefeated on the road against NC State
The Louisville Cardinals are 4-0 coming into their third conference game of the season, scoring an average of 43.3 points per game so far. After Jeff Brohm came in as head coach, he quickly loaded the roster with transfers but has thus far depended more on the running game than the pass-heavy approach he favored at Purdue. Louisville is averaging 237.2 rushing yards per game — good for fifth in the nation — with a little over six yards per rush.
The NC State Wolfpack are coming off a 24-21 win over conference foe Virginia, giving the team two straight victories since a 45-24 loss to Notre Dame in early September. So far this season, NC State is averaging 381.2 yards of total offense per game while giving up 326 yards per game. The Wolfpack defense has been relatively strong against the pass but has struggled somewhat against strong running teams, with Notre Dame racking up 170 rushing yards while averaging 7.5 yards per play overall against the Wolfpack.
Establishing running game could be key for Louisville
Cardinals running back Jawhar Jordan has gotten the bulk of the workload so far, carrying the ball 50 times in four games for a total of 478 yards on the ground with six TDs. He’s also hauled in six passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, including breaking off a 70-yarder.
QB Jack Plummer, a transfer from Cal, comes into this game with a 67% completion rate, with 10 TDs and four interceptions. Louisville doesn’t necessarily need him to lead the way, but it will rely on him to protect the football against this NC State secondary.
Eyes on NC State quarterback Armstrong
The Wolfpack offense hasn’t been quite as high-octane as Louisville’s so far this season, averaging 29.2 points per game. QB Brennan Armstrong has thrown for five TDs and four interceptions, with 859 passing yards on a total of 135 attempts. Where Armstrong really adds offensive heft for NC State is with his legs. He’s currently the team’s leading rusher by a wide margin, with 225 yards on 52 carries and three rushing TDs.
Armstrong’s performance will be key to getting the Wolfpack on the board early and keeping the team in this game against a Louisville offense that’s likely to put some points on the scoreboard.
Louisville vs. NC State odds and betting lines for NCAA Week 5
Unsurprisingly, Louisville comes in as the betting favorite. The Cardinals haven’t lost yet this season, and the high-scoring offense has contributed to a current line for total points of . Here are full betting CFB odds for Friday night’s game from top online sportsbooks.
Louisville vs. NC State player props
Multiple player props are available for this game. Here’s a closer look at some of the key categories for Friday’s ACC showdown.
Total passing yards
Louisville QB Plummer has put up the bigger passing numbers so far this season, with 1,120 yards on 97 passing attempts, averaging 280 yards per game through the air. By comparison, NC State’s Armstrong has attempted almost 40 more passes, but with nearly 400 fewer yards and an average of 214.8 yards per game.
Total rushing yards
With Armstrong being NC State’s leading rusher, he’ll likely be the main focal point of the Louisville defense. Thus far, he’s averaged 56.2 yards per game on the ground, with 4.3 yards per carry. For Louisville, Jordan has averaged 9.6 yards per carry, while only getting about 12.5 carries per game. Jordan is often the go-to choice in the red zone for the Cardinals, so more time spent in NC State territory could translate to more opportunities for him to run the football.
Louisville vs. NC State injury report
For the Louisville Cardinals, things look pretty good on the injury front. DB Jaden Minkins is questionable with an undisclosed injury. DB M.J. Griffin suffered a broken leg in August and is out for the season, but otherwise the team is mostly healthy.
NC State, however, is dealing with more injury concerns. C Dylan McMahon and S Devan Boykin — both starters for the Wolfpack — are likely out of this game.