Louisville Preparing for 'Hostile Environment' at NC State in First True Road Game

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It might be just four games into the Jeff Brohm era, but so far, the Louisville football program is off to a hot start under his guidance. While the Cardinals are not a perfect product, their win/loss record is still very much so, as they are off to their first 4-0 start since Lamar Jackson's Heisman Trophy campaign in 2016.

But that unblemished record is going to get put to the test later this week. Louisville is set to face their toughest challenge of the young season thus far in their next matchup, traveling to Raleigh, N.C. for a matchup against NC State.

Brohm knows that Louisville will be in for a tough test when the two team square off.

"We're excited to get on to the next challenge, and it will be a challenge," he said. "I think we're gonna go into a really hostile environment that we haven't seen yet this year. North Carolina State's been able to win a lot of football games here in their recent past."

Of course, NC State itself is already a challenge in and of itself. While the Wolfpack has not been nearly as dominant as many expected them to be through the first third of the season, they are still team with a healthy mix of talent and veteran experience.

Offensively, they're led by quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who was No. 4 in passing yards nationally in 2021 during his time at Virginia, and was reunited with his old offensive coordinator who helped him achieve said season in Robert Anae. Defensively, NC State is littered with All-ACC caliber players. This includes linebacker Payton Wilson, who is off to a hot start for the Wolfpack.

"They're got a really strong physical football team, especially on defense," Brohm said. "They're aggressive, they play downhill, they stop the run, they're very athletic. On offense, when you have a veteran quarterback who's in charge, that gives you that experience that you need. We'll have our hands full. We have to have good week of practice. It'll be here before we know it, and we're looking forward to getting things going."

But on top of having to face an opponent that will be Louisville's toughest this season, the location of the matchup and the hype surrounding it will also prove difficult to deal with.

Carter-Finley Stadium, which seats 56,919, has one of the most underrated home advantages in the ACC, and the matchup with Louisville is already sold out. Throw in the fact that it will be a blackout on a Friday night in front of a national television audience, and the Carter-Finley home crowd will be even more raucous than it normally would.

"When you look at their first two home games being sold out, and now this will be sold out, that's fans that are passionate about their team and that'll be into the game," Brohm said. "Anytime you have a night game, it can create a little more of a wild and hectic atmosphere that I'm sure they're going to cherish to get done.

"Our players have to be prepared for it. I think when you play in that, you've got to try to start fast. You got to keep the game close early on, and not let anything get out of whack, or that thing can build and it can get even even louder."

Additionally, this will be Louisville's first true road contest of the season. While the matchups against both Georgia Tech and Indiana were basically in the respective opponent's backyard, both contests were neutral site showdowns, and lacked the rowdiness that comes with a true home field advantage. In fact, the latter probably featured more Cardinals fans than Hoosiers fans. The matchup will also be coming off a short week, though this is something that NC State has to prepare for as well.

While the Cardinals have yet to experience a true hostile road environment so far this season, Brohm is confident that his team will be able to withstand it.

"I think our team will be prepared for it," he said. "We work a lot on silent counts, noise level and that's what you kind of deal with. The noise, and being able to not allow that to distract you from what you have to get done on both sides of the ball. When you play in that type of environment, the other team gets momentum and the crowd gets loud, you've got to be able to block that out and still be able to play hard, stay concentrated and focused on what you have to do.

"But just like anything, when you have the 12th man on your side and the fans are into it, it can be an advantage. We got to try to negate that as much as we can."

During the Cardinals' week of practice leading up to the matchup, Brohm is pulling out all the stops that a coach typically utilizes when preparing for a loud road environment. Pumping in crowd noise during practice, working on their silent cadence and communication via hand signals, staying just a little longer to get in extra reps to prepare for the noise, etc. He even believes that a couple of the night practices held during fall camp will help his team get used to playing when the lights come on.

"The noise will be going a lot," he said. Being able to communicate, whether by hand signal or sideline signals, is going to be important that we do on offense, but actually on defense as well. ... You've got to do things to make you cause to sit up the line of scrimmage longer than you want, which can cause some false starts and some leaning and moving that you don't want to have happen. All these little five year penalties can add up, so we got to make sure we keep that at a minimum."

(Photo of Louisville Players: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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