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FACTS & STATS: Site: Nippert Stadium (35,000) -- Cincinnati, Ohio. Television: ESPN. Home Record: NC State 2-0, Cincinnati 2-0. Away Record: NC State 0-1, Cincinnati 0-1. Neutral Record: NC State 0-0, Cincinnati 0-0. Conference Record: NC State 0-1, Cincinnati 0-0. Series Record: NC State leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: For the second consecutive year Cincinnati and NC State will clash on the gridiron when the Bearcats host the Wolfpack this Thursday night at Nippert Stadium.

Last year was the first matchup between the two schools, with the Wolfpack claiming a 30-19 victory in Raleigh.

NC State opened 2011 with a rout of Liberty, but that was followed by an ACC- opening loss to Wake Forest (34-27). The Wolfpack responded last weekend with an easy 35-13 decision over South Alabama. The Wolfpack did not play well on the road in the loss to Wake Forest, so it will be interesting to see if Tom O'Brien's team can perform better this Thursday in Cincinnati on national television.

As for the Bearcats, they have had a similar start to the year, sandwiching a road loss between two home victories. After dismantling Austin Peay, 72-10, Cincinnati got beat at Tennessee, 45-23. Coach Butch Jones' team rebounded with a convincing win over a much weaker Akron squad this past weekend however, 59-14. Cincinnati will take on one more non-conference foe in Miami- Ohio before opening Big East action on October 15th at home against Louisville.

The offense for NC State took too long to get going against Wake Forest and even though the team scored 21 points in the second half, it was not enough to overcome the large deficit.

That was not the case this past weekend, as the Wolfpack scored on their first drive against South Alabama and proceeded to put up 35 points in an easy victory.

Mike Glennon had his best game of the year, throwing for 274 yards and four touchdowns. T.J. Graham proved to be a valuable option for Glennon, hauling in five passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. The passing attack was a question mark coming into the season after star QB Russell Wilson left, but Glennon, who attempted just 13 passes last season, has performed well, tossing eight touchdowns against just one interceptions.

The offense though, will not reach its full potential until the Wolfpack present a formidable rushing attack. In the team's recent win NC State racked up just 95 yards on a mere 2.6 yards per carry. James Washington finished with 55 yards and one touchdown, giving him three scores on the year, but as a whole the Wolfpack are averaging just 122.0 ypg on a pedestrian 3.7 yards per tote.

While coach O'Brien's team has been unable to find room to run successfully the defense has been able to bottle up the opposition's rushing attack. Through three games the Wolfpack are limiting teams to just 105.3 ypg on the ground.

In the win over South Alabama, the Pack held the Jaguars to only 104 yards on 33 carries. It was a dominant effort all around, as NC State held South Alabama to only 182 yards via the pass.

It was a much better showing by the secondary, which was trying to rebound after being torched for 337 yards in the loss to Wake Forest. What helped the defense's cause was the three takeaways the team collected. NC State has already forced 11 turnovers on the year, with seven interceptions.

David Amerson has three of those picks and pulled one in against South Alabama. Brandan Bishop collected the other, and finished with a team-high nine tackles.

So far the Bearcats have scored 72 and 59 points, respectively, in their victories at home, while posting only 23 points in the loss to Tennessee in Knoxville. Maybe coach Jones' offense just feels more comfortable at home, or maybe the team has posted some many points at Nippert Stadium because the opponents were Austin Peay and Akron.

Regardless of the reason the Bearcats will get a chance to host a quality team this weekend and the offense needs to be prepared for NC State's staunch defense.

For Zach Collaros hasn't had a problem performing anywhere. Through three games, the Cincinnati signal caller has thrown for 521 yards and seven scores and has yet to throw an interception.

Three of those touchdowns have gone in the direction of Anthony McClung, but the main target for the Cincy quarterback has been DJ Woods, who comes into this weekend with 15 receptions and 232 yards, both of which are team-highs.

Collaros and the passing attack was not called on much in the recent win over the Zips. Collaros only threw for 157 yards and one touchdown in the game, while rushing for another score.

Cincinnati dominated Akron on the ground, rumbling for 164 yards and four TDs. Jameel Poteat led the way with 55 yards and one touchdown, while Isaiah Pead chipped in with only 15 yards on six carries. Pead, who also found the end zone against Akron, has been the best back for coach Jones and rolls into this game with 257 yards on an amazing 9.5 yards per carry. Pead has also found the end zone four times already.

It is hard to judge the defense for Cincinnati. Two weeks ago the Bearcats were dismantled for 45 points in a loss to Tennessee, and the performance this past weekend is even more confusing.

Akron came into Saturday's game with only three points in its first two contests, but the Zips managed to score 14 points against Cincy, and racked up 17 first downs in the process.

However, at the same time the Bearcats scored three defensive touchdowns in the win and forced five turnovers overall. Maalik Bomar returned a fumble 54 yards for a score in the first quarter, while Dominique Battle and Camerron Cheatham returned interceptions 36 and 53 yards, respectively, for touchdowns.

So far this unit is surrendering a generous 385.7 yards per game, but through three games, coach Jones' squad has been able to hold off opponents by collecting 13 takeaways.

Two of the team's six interceptions have come from JK Schaffer, who is also leading the team with 19 tackles on the year. Schaffer and the rest of the secondary, which is allowing over 250.0 ypg through the air, will have its hands full against NC State's Glennon, who looks to be improving every game.

The Bearcats have shown they are much better at home, but this will be the toughest opponent to come to Nippert Stadium thus far. NC State won three times on the road last year, but looked terrible outside of Raleigh in its lone road game to date. The Wolfpack should be able to overcome any road woes here and do enough to escape the Queen City with a win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: NC State 31, Cincinnati 28