CINCINNATI BEARCATS
at
North Carolina State Wolfpack

Carter-Finley Stadium (35,000/FieldTurf)
Raleigh, N.C.

Television
ESPN — Rece Davis, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Jenn Brown

Cincinnati Radio
WLW-AM 700 (flagship)
Sirius 122; XM 143


THE GAME
Cincinnati and North Carolina meet for the first time Thursday night … The game will be the Bearcats’ first against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in the regular season since 2006 … Cincinnati last met an ACC opponent in the 2009 Orange Bowl, when the Bearcats fell 20-7 to Virginia Tech … The Wolfpack last met a BIG EAST opponent Sept. 26, 2009, when North Carolina State rallied past Pittsburgh 38-31.

CINCINNATI (1-1)
Head Coach
Butch Jones (Ferris State ’90)
1-1, first season at Cincinnati
28-13, fourth season as collegiate head coach


NOTES
Cincinnati picked up its first win of the season with a 40-7 decision against Indiana State … The win was the first at Cincinnati for head coach Butch Jones … The Bearcats opened the 2010 season with a 28-14 loss at Fresno State … Cincinnati has averaged 313.5 yards of offense and allowed an average of 275 yards through two games … QB Zach Collaros has completed 60.3 percent of his passes (35 of 58) for 349 yards and three touchdowns without an interception … A talented group of receivers lost a key member in Week 1 with a season-ending knee injury to WR Vidal Hazelton … WR D.J. Woods and WR Armon Binns enter with nearly identical numbers … Woods has 11 receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Binns has 10 catches for 114 yards and two TDs … RB Darrin Williams stepped in for injured RB Isaiah Pead against Indiana State and had 117 rushing yards on 13 carries … LB JK Schaffer has a team-high 16 tackles through two games … K Jacob Rogers has gone 1-for-2 on field goal attempts — both from 48 yards  … P Pat O’Donnell is averaging 39.8 yards on 12 punts with six downed inside the 20-yard line … Following Saturday’s game, Cincinnati will face Oklahoma at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati Sept 25.  


NORTH CAROLINA STATE (2-0)
Head Coach
Tom O’Brien (Navy ’71)
18-21, fourth season at North Carolina State
93-66, 14th season as collegiate head coach


NOTES
North Carolina State is off to a 2-0 start after Saturday’s 28-21 win at Central Florida … The Wolfpack took advantage of five Central Florida turnovers to win on a day in which their normally potent offense had just 239 yards … The Wolfpack opened with a 48-7 win against Western Carolina … The Wolfpack are 2-0 for the first time since 2002, when a Philip Rivers-led team won its first nine games … NC State has not committed a turnover in its first two games … QB Russell Wilson has completed 31 of 61 passes for 411 yards and five touchdowns without an interception … RB Dean Haynes has averaged 59.0 yards in the first two games with two rushing touchdowns … WR T.J. Graham has seven receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns on the year … NC State was 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season … Head coach Tom O’Brien was in the BIG EAST for eight years (1997-2004) as head coach at Boston College and won a share of the 2004 BIG EAST title.