Furman @ North Carolina State preview

North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley finds himself in some elite company as he leads the Wolfpack into a Saturday encounter with visiting Furman. Finley has thrown for more than 300 yards in each of his first two games, helping N.C. State earn a split of those contests - and the Wolfpack would love nothing more than to build on that momentum, with a Florida State showdown on the horizon.

Finley became the first N.C. State quarterback since Philip Rivers in 2003 to open the season with back-to-back 300-yard passing efforts - and the Wolfpack needed every bit of it last week, rallying from an early 13-3 deficit with a 20-point second quarter en route to a 37-20 drubbing of Marshall. It was a solid bounceback effort by N.C. State, which dropped its opener 35-28 to rival South Carolina despite dominating in total yardage (504 to 246) and time of possession (36:54 to 23:06). Things are about to get a lot more difficult for the Wolfpack after this one, as they face three top-15 teams in Florida State, Louisville and Clemson over their next six games; they also have road games at Pitt and Notre Dame in that stretch. Furman has opened the season with narrow losses to Wofford and Elon, losing both by a combined four points.

TV: 12:20 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: None.

ABOUT FURMAN (0-2): It has been a roller-coaster ride for the Paladins through two games. They lost their opener 24-23 to Wofford after failing on a two-point conversion following a Triston Luke 44-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds remaining, then squandered a seven-point lead with three minutes left last week against Elon. Senior quarterback P.J. Blazejowski has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes for 362 yards and a touchdown while adding 103 yards and a score on the ground; Darius Morehead paces the team in rushing yards (150) while Thomas Gordon has seven catches for 202 yards, with 77 of those coming on a third-quarter scoring strike against Elon.

ABOUT N.C. STATE (1-1): The Wolfpack should be close to fully armed for this week's game. Left tackle Will Richardson has been listed as the starter for Saturday's game after serving a team-imposed two-game suspension for an undisclosed matter that took place last spring, while cornerback Mike Stevens has been installed as a co-starter after missing the first two games of the season with a leg injury. In addition to completing a stunning 76 percent of his passes for 756 yards and five touchdowns through two games, Finley showed off his rushing ability last time out, scampering for a career-best 46-yard gain on the first play of the game against the Thundering Herd.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Finley's run was NC State's longest run by a Wolfpack QB since Jacoby Brissett had a 60-yarder in 2014.

2. Wolfpack WR Kelvin Harmon has posted back-to-back 100-yard receiving efforts; he had just one such game all of last season.

3. Furman has drawn a whopping 18 penalty flags for 153 yards through two games, while getting flagged just five times for 66 yards.

PREDICTION: N.C. State 45, Furman 10