PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Puma Pass has been in and out of the lineup, including getting benched last week after a string of four turnovers in the first half against Syracuse. He threw for a career-best 358 yards and had 392 yards of total offense vs. Wake Forest but was held in check by Clemson and Syracuse. The 6-foot-4, 231-pound sophomore from Columbus, Ga., has thrown for 1,893 yards and 8 touchdowns with 11 interceptions while completing 54.3 percent of his passes.
–QB Malik Cunningham has rushed for 66 more yards than any other Louisville player this season, and he’s only played in less than half of the offensive snaps this season. Cunningham has rushed for 33 yards and has -25 sack yardage on the season. He has three rushing touchdowns and 1 passing touchdown.
–WR Jaylen Smith is Louisville’s leading receiver with 31 catches for 463 yards and a touchdown. The 6-4, 220-pound Pascagoula, Miss., native was a preseason All-ACC pick but has not been as effective this season as he was last year.
–S Dee Smith leads Louisville in tackles with 60, 31 solo and 29 assists. He also has 1.5 TFLs and a half sack through eight games. The 6-1, 208-pound senior from Florence, Ala., has also broken up a pass and has a QB hurry.
SERIES HISTORY: Louisville leads the overall series 6-2 with a 4-0 lead in games played in Louisville. NC State won last season’s game 39-25 in Raleigh, and Louisville crushed the Wolfpack 54-13 in 2016.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Really, I’m blessed to have this opportunity to be the interim head coach at Louisville. The thing that I constantly think about is the young men that we’re dealing with that’s coming into this building every day, trying to get better as a football team. It’s not about Coach Ward and him being the interim head coach. When I spoke with the staff that was here yesterday, I told them this is not going to be about me. It’s not going to be about them. It’s going to be about what we’re going to do for these young men for the next two weeks.” — Interim coach Lorenzo Ward.
