Louisville will look to right the ship on Saturday when it visits North Carolina State in an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown in Raleigh, N.C.
The Cardinals (2-2, 1-1 ACC) dropped out of the Top 25 rankings, from their perch at No. 16, after falling 30-27 to visiting Wake Forest last week. NC State (2-2, 0-1) is coming off a 41-31 home victory over Appalachian State.
Louisville may be without a couple key players on Saturday.
During his weekly press conference Monday, coach Jeff Brohm said that dual-threat quarterback Lincoln Kienholz sustained an injury late in the loss to the Demon Deacons. Brohm declined to elaborate, saying Kienholz would be a game-time decision.
Under Kienholz, who ranks fourth in the ACC with 1,140 passing yards and is tied for the conference lead with six rushing touchdowns, the Cardinals average 486.3 yards and 41.2 points per game, both good for 18th nationally.
Starting safety Koen Entringer was a late scratch before the Wake Forest game, and Brohm was not optimistic about his availability for this week.
The Cardinals allowed passes of 31, 48 and 77 yards to Wake Forest that were either touchdowns or led to one. Louisville’s passing defense allows 240.3 yards per game, tied with San Diego State for No. 110 nationally.
“I won’t elaborate too much on exactly what happened, but it’s a little bit different every time,” Brohm said regarding the secondary issues that have been prevalent all season. “So, we have to make sure that everyone’s on the same page.”
NC State coach Dave Doeren said that the tape also shows the Cardinals’ defense can be a strength, as Louisville leads the ACC with a plus-6 turnover margin.
“They’ve gone several halves where they don’t give up anything, and we’ve got to do a great job executing and taking advantage of our opportunities,” Doeren said.
Keenan Jackson leads the Wolfpack with 19 catches for 295 yards. His four receiving scores are tied for second in the ACC.
NC State quarterback CJ Bailey, a third-year starter, has thrown for 893 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 67.3% of his passes this season.
The Wolfpack’s defense is led by linebacker Popo Aguirre, whose 37 total tackles rank third in the ACC.
