Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Inside Pack Sports' James Henderson

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following a dominating performance against Boston College to secure their best start to a season since 2016, the Louisville football program is set for their first true road game of the season, heading to Raleigh for a weeknight showdown against NC State.

Ahead of the matchup, Louisville Report sat down with James Henderson of Inside Pack Sports to find out more about the Wolfpack:

1. What is the overall vibe around the NC State program right now? It seems that they haven’t been nearly as dominant as many expected them to be up to this point.

I think State, record-wise, is about where most expected right now with the schedule and the Notre Dame matchup projected as a loss.

The "concerns" have more so been on the offensive side where they aren't scoring as many points as State fans would like. Now, I think some of that is due to situation and strategy (low # of drives vs. UConn/VMI... ball-control with a lead, etc...) but fans don't want to hear that. They want a lot of points.

Overall though I think a lot of fans are putting emphasis on Friday's game as a major indicator of where State is at. This should be a winnable game. If you lose this one, the rest of the schedule looks a lot tougher than maybe it does right now.

2. The reunion between quarterback Brennan Armstrong and offensive coordinator Robert Anae was hyped up during the offseason, but it seems like Armstrong hasn’t quite yet returned to his 2021 form. Why is that?

Well, I think the expectations of him returning to 2021 were probably unrealistic. First of all, you could make an argument that it was one of the best seasons in ACC history, statistically. Armstrong is the only player ever in the league to average 400+ passing yards per game in a season. EVER. Repeating that was unlikely.

However, that was the upside and the hope is State can at least come close to that success, but it hasn't happened yet.

Personally, I think Armstrong has been very good. His running ability has helped State maintain a high-level of success on third down and stay on schedule offensively, the issue for me has been more the rotating at the skill positions and lack of explosive plays being generated. The chemistry just isn't there yet... will it come as we move on through the season? That's the question.

3. NC State hasn’t seemed to have gotten a lot from the offensive skill position players outside of KC Conception. What does he bring to the table?

Explosive, quick-twitch slot guy who can win with his route-running already as a true freshman. He had 10 targets against Virginia and 11 against Notre Dame. He probably should have had 15 or so against Virginia and that game wouldn't have been as close. He's frequently running open.

I expect him to be a major focal point for State offensively. They are starting to move him around more and line him up across the formation in some scoring spots.

4. Linebacker Payton Wilson is off to another really fast start for the Wolfpack. How does his impact, as well as the rest of that NC State front seven, affect the opposing offense’s game plan?

It's huge.

Wilson currently leads the ACC in tackles and is, in my opinion, the best defensive player in the ACC. State lines him up at linebacker, off the edge, and even free safety in some formations. He is always around the ball and extremely athletic.

The strength of the defense though is the defensive line. Davin Vann is top five in the ACC in pressures per PFF, and rotational pass-rusher Red Hibbler is top five in the league in sacks. Savion Jackson is outstanding against the run and both nose tackles can really play.

Because of the defensive line we've seen State blitz I feel a little less and be able to provide some help to the back-end in terms of more coverage.

5. Looking at the advanced stats, it seems that NC State’s secondary seems to struggle at times in pass coverage. Is this a fair assessment?

I don't personally think so, but we'll see.

They've been susceptible at times to the big play, but it's not been in a traditional sense. Notre Dame had virtually all of its passing success to the tight ends, which most teams don't really utilize. I think Notre Dame completed one pass to an outside receiver in that game.

Virginia had some success while focusing their targets on essentially two wide receivers, but I thought one of the big plays was fluky,... a tunnel screen that should have been blown up for a loss or even batted down at the line of scrimmage. Regardless, it counts, right?

State's corners, Aydan White and Shyheim Battle, are really good. The safety position is the concern with both projected starters coming into the season injured. However, Jakeen Harris was injured week one so State has been filling his spot already.

I'm interested to see how they fare this week against Louisville.

(Photo of Brennan Armstrong: David Butler II - USA TODAY Sports)

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