North Carolina State @ Wake Forest preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 15, 2014 ) Wake Forest 13, North Carolina State 42

North Carolina State and Wake Forest rekindle their century-long rivalry Saturday as BB&T Field plays host to the 106th consecutive meeting in the all-time series - the fourth-longest uninterrupted series in the nation. The Demon Deacons stand to benefit from playing on their home field as the host team has come out the winner in each of the last eight meetings.

N.C. State is still seeking its first conference victory of the season after dropping back-to-back games in the ACC against Louisville and Virginia Tech. But with a open date last week, the Wolfpack should be well rested and refocused for Saturday's game. Wake Forest, meanwhile, is coming off a 50-14 loss to North Carolina on the road which saw quarterback John Wolford aggravate a previous ankle injury and forced Kendall Hinton into action despite a back injury of his own. "Right now our two quarterbacks are not 100 percent,’’ coach Dave Clawson said at his weekly press conference Tuesday. “It’s been a juggling act every week figuring out who can go and what they can do."


TV: Noon ET, ESPN3, RSN. LINE: North Carolina State -9

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (4-2, 0-2 ACC): Matthew Dayes, who is attempting to become the Wolfpack's first 1,000-yard rusher since T.A. McClendon in 2002, has 588 yards through the first six games and is tied with Florida State's Dalvin Cook for the most rushing touchdowns in the ACC with 10. Dayes had 100 yards rushing in N.C. State's first four wins on the season but has been held to fewer than 70 yards in the previous two losses. He has a favorable matchup going up against Wake Forest, which allows the fifth-most rushing yards in the ACC at 161.7 per game.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (3-4, 1-3 ACC): The Demon Deacons are playing an opponent coming off an open date for the third time in four weeks, which Clawson has been displeased with as his team has gone 0-2 in such games. "This year there’s only one bye week, and there’s three ACC teams that got their bye week before us. So it’s great," he sarcastically told reporters Tuesday. "We allow them to get healthy and give them an extra week to prepare and so it’s good." Wake Forest's open date doesn't come for a few more weeks until after a home game against Louisville on Oct. 30.

EXTRA POINTS

1.N.C. State leads the series 64-38-6 but hasn't beat Wake Forest on the road since 2001.

2. The Demon Deacons are 34-14 against in-state opponents since 2001.

3. The Wolfpack are 7-2 after an off week under coach Dave Doeren.

PREDICTION: N.C. State 24, Wake Forest 16