Cincinnati Bearcats vs. NC State Wolfpack betting preview

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Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
sportsbook Line: NC State -2, Total: 54.5

Cincinnati's top rusher returns to the field tonight as Isaiah Pead is expected to play when the Bearcats visit North Carolina State. Pead has been dealing with knee problems for a few months, and missed the last game against Indiana State. In the Bearcats season opener versus Fresno State Pead gained just 36 yards on 10 carries.

Pead will impact this game, but the outcome will be based more on the performances of the quarterbacks, which are two of the better signal callers in the nation. Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros has a career completion rate of 69 percent and has thrown 13 TD and just two interceptions as a collegiate.

NC State's Russell Wilson is regarded as one of the nation's top-10 quarterbacks, but he certainly didn't play like it in last week's win at UCF. Wilson completed just 10-of-30 passes for 105 yards. That's a far cry from his 252 passing YPG from a year ago, when he racked up 31 passing touchdowns (4th-most in the nation).

NC State doesn't usually play well as the favorite in an evenly-matched game:

NC STATE is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) as a home favorite of 3 points or less since 2026.
The average score was NC STATE 18.6, OPPONENT 25.1 - (Rating = 1*).

NC State was very opportunistic against UCF in forcing five turnovers, but neither school has a great defense.

NC STATE is 9-1 OVER (+7.9 Units) in home games when playing with 6 or less days rest over the last 3 seasons. The average score was NC STATE 30.0, OPPONENT 30.5 - (Rating = 2*).

Now that you have the key numbers for tonight's game, head over to sportsbook to place your bets. While on the site, be sure and enter the $5,000 Week 2 NFL Survivor Pool – it is FREE to enter.