NC State opens as 9-point underdog to Miami

NC State is a significant underdog again this week, but on the bright side, this is the last time that’ll be the case in 2020. The Wolfpack opened as a nine-point underdog to the Miami Hurricanes, who are coming to Raleigh for a primetime matchup on Friday.

The Hurricanes, who also had a bye this past weekend, are 5-1 on the season with their only loss coming at Clemson. Miami may well be the second-best team in the ACC, but it also wasn’t competitive in that game against the Tigers, which goes to show how far ahead of everybody Clemson continues to be.

Miami presents a different sort of challenge this year thanks to Houston transfer quarterback D’Eriq King, who is capable with his arm and his legs, though the Canes’ offense has been up-and-down this season. When they’re on, they’re pretty tough.

NC State needs a bounce-back effort from its run defense against a Miami ground game that averages a modest 3.7 yards per carry in league games. If the Pack can make Miami one-dimensional, hey, who knows.