← Matchups

Louisville

ACC · 1-1 · power +21.9 · #26
Our numberLOU -1.5 no book has priced this game

NC State

ACC · 1-1 (0-1 ACC) · power +13.8 · #62
Our side
MoneylineLOU to win ours 35%
Projected score 28–26 LOU – NCSU
2026-10-03 · kickoff TBD Carter-Finley Stadium · Raleigh, NC ACC game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Louisville lead 9–4 · 13 meetings since 1951
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Louisville Cardinals 101 ranks
Louisville Cardinals #25 rush offense NC State Wolfpack #126 run defense
Pass game edge NC State Wolfpack 70 ranks
Louisville Cardinals #209 pass offense NC State Wolfpack #139 pass defense
Run game edge NC State Wolfpack 62 ranks
NC State Wolfpack #32 rush offense Louisville Cardinals #94 run defense
Pass game edge Louisville Cardinals 51 ranks
NC State Wolfpack #56 pass offense Louisville Cardinals #5 pass defense
Louisville Cardinals Balanced · 49% run Ball-control NC State Wolfpack Balanced · 51% run Ball-control
Jeff Brohm · 86-51 · defense-minded Dave Doeren · 84-56 · offense-minded

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Louisville Cardinals
QB Lincoln Kienholz 639 pass yds · 4 TD · 0 INT #1 QB
WR Tre Richardson 11 rec · 181 yds · 1 TD #69 WR
TE Jaleel Skinner 5 rec · 137 yds · 1 TD #23 TE
WR Lawayne McCoy 5 rec · 164 yds · 2 TD #102 WR
NC State Wolfpack
LB Popo Aguirre 21 tkl #147 LB
TE Preston Douglas 5 rec · 71 yds · 1 TD #52 TE
RB Jayden Scott 148 rush yds · 2 TD #149 RB
DB Ronnie Royal III 9 tkl · 1 PD #499 DB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Louisville CardinalsACC +21.9 +16.3 +5.6 #26
NC State WolfpackACC +13.8 +9.2 +4.6 #62

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Louisville offense vs NC State defense+11.7 pts
NC State offense vs Louisville defense+3.6 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 422 mi

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.