Kick-off time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Carter Finley Stadium. Louisville is a -3.0 point favorite with a 55.5 point total for this Friday night ACC tilt.
Louisville Offense Rolling
Louisville brings the No. 9 ranked scoring offense into this contest and has scored 56 points or more twice this season. Cardinals quarterback Jack Plummer threw for 388 yards and five TDs in Louisville’s big win over Boston College and is 19th in passing yards in the country. Head Coach Jeff Brohm had this to say about his QB:
“We knew Boston College was going to give us a challenge. They wake up our players when they almost beat Florida State at home last week. Because of that, we practiced well with the sense of urgency needed to come out and win. To be quite honest, it starts at Card March. We had a great showing. Our kids love that. It makes them more ready to play.
We came out firing on a lot of cylinders, scoring points and being productive. The defense started pretty hot early on, but of course a few things cooled down after that. I am really proud of the start we had. A lot of guys made some good plays. A few other guys stepped up and made more plays than they have in the past. So, we are going to have to continue to do that. Certain guys are going to have to continue to merge, continue to work hard. You never know when your time is going to come about.
On defense, while there’s some good things, there are plenty of things to shore up. So, it gave us an opportunity, as coaches, to see what we can do to help them perform more efficiently all the time and then as players, maybe have to play harder. Maybe, we have to do this or that. There are just things we have to shore up to move forward to some really tough football games coming up.”
RB Jawhar Jordan bulldozed his way to 134 rushing yards with a pair of trips to the end zone against BC and has six rushing TDs with an additional 133 receiving yards and one TD.
This offense will go to work against the 57th-ranked NC State scoring defense, allowing a 44th-most 326 total yards of offense per contest.
Cardinals Robust Defense….Thus Far
The Louisville defense has done its job well thus far, allowing the 66th fewest total yards and 40th-best 19 points per tilt. Linebacker Jaylin Alderman recorded a career-high eight tackles, and the defense broke up eight Eagles passes last week.
The Louisville defense will have its hands full with dual-threat WolfpackQB Brennan Armstrong. The senior QB has thrown for 859 yards with five TDs and threw one of his four interceptions last week in the Wolfpacks’ 24-21 away victory over Virginia Tech. Armstrong is also the group’s leading rusher, accumulating 225 yards and three TDs on 55 attempts.
Louisville vs. NC State Betting Analysis
The Cardinals should win this game, and my best bet is Louisville -3.0 (-110) at bet365 Kentucky.
The Cardinals offense should be able to score the football Saturday against this Wolfpack defense. Plummer has enough experience, and the offense has enough depth to be able to move the football and scored on seven successive possessions against Boston College. If they can replicate this type of consistency this week, and the defense continues to make big stops and big plays, and they will they will cover the -3.0 (-110) at bet365.
For more tips for Kentucky sports betting, check us out here at KY Betting.
