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FACTS & STATS: Site: Carter-Finley Stadium (51,500) -- Raleigh, North Carolina. Television: ESPN3.com. Home Record: CMU 2-0, NC State 2-1. Away Record: CMU 0-3, NC State 0-2. Neutral Record: CMU 0-0, NC State 0-0. Conference Record: CMU 1-1, NC State 0-2. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: For the first-time ever, NC State and Central Michigan will collide on the football field, as the Wolfpack host the Chippewas at Carter- Finley Stadium.

The Chippewas were able to snap out of their funk by claiming a 48-41 decision at home over Northern Illinois last time out. What propelled the team to the win last week was the offense, which exploded after combining for only 34 points in the previous three games.

The Wolfpack fell for the second straight week, as the high octane Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets took care of business against NC State in Raleigh. It was the third loss on the year for NC State and the second in league action. The other conference setback came on the road against Wake Forest (34-27).

Without question the Chippewas are coming off their best offensive performance of the season, as they poured on 48 points in the victory over Northern Illinois.

Ryan Radcliff was spectacular in the win, throwing for 387 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those scores went to Paris Cotton, who finished with 115 yards on four catches. However, Cotton also led the charge on the ground, rumbling for 110 yards on 16 totes.

Unfortunately for the fan faithful at Central Michigan, Cotton hurt his ankle and will be questionable for Saturday's game. If he is unable to go that will be a big blow for this unit.

While it was an excellent performance by the Chippewas, it was only one game and this unit has much more to prove before it can be considered a threat.

Through five games the Chippewas are averaging just 104.0 ypg rushing on a weak 3.6 yards per attempt. As for Radcliff, he has just 1,152 passing yards after torching NIU, and comes into this weekend with just eight touchdowns against six interceptions.

Clearly this unit still has a long road ahead of it, but this is a good sign for coach Dan Enos' squad.

Now coach Enos will have to focus on the defense, which had plenty of issues against Northern Illinois, and seemed to continually keep the Huskies in contention right down to the end.

Central Michigan was gashed for 217 yards on the ground and allowed another 370 yards through the air. However, the unit was able to force two crucial turnovers.

Both interceptions were collected by Jahleel Addae, but he did much more than that, finishing the game with a forced fumble and 18 tackles. There is little doubt that Addae will be named the Mid-American Conference's defensive player of the week.

There are plenty of holes that need to be filled, but right now the biggest issue has come against the pass, as opponents are dismantling CMU for 240.2 yards per game and have already scored eight passing touchdowns.

That bodes well for NC State, which has relied heavily on its passing attack, as the team comes into this contest averaging 261.6 ypg, to go along with 13 touchdowns through the air. NC State's success through the air is the biggest reason why this unit is posting 30.8 ppg.

Mike Glennon has been extremely efficient on the season, throwing for 1,242 yards, while completing 66.2 percent of his passes. Glennon has tossed 12 touchdowns in five games against only four interceptions.

T.J. Graham has hauled in four of those touchdown passes and comes into this weekend leading the team with 19 receptions and 428 yards. Surprisingly though in the loss to Georgia Tech, the top option for Glennon was held without a catch and that severely hurt the quarterback's numbers, as he finished with just 163 yards and two scores. Glennon also tossed an interception in the loss and was sacked twice.

James Washington did give the Wolfpack a balanced attack, rushing for 131 yards and one score on 20 totes. It was a impressive effort for Washington, who has 300 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

With Georgia Tech in town, coach Tom O'Brien had to know the Yellow Jackets were going to force the issue on the ground. However, even though the Wolfpack were ready for Georgia Tech's offense, they were unable to stop it, as the Yellow Jackets gashed NC State for 296 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

NC State's inability to stop the run was evident weeks ago, and all Georgia Tech did was exploit that weakness. Through five games the Wolfpack is allowing 170.4 ypg via the run and have already surrendered nine rushing touchdowns.

Clearly there is still plenty of work to be done, but one player finding personal success is Audie Cole, who already has 50 tackles on the season, and comes into this matchup with 7.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks.

The Chippewas' efforts against Northern Illinois should boost the team's confidence. However, that probably won't last for long because Central Michigan has been unable to perform at that level on the road. It won't be pretty for coach O'Brien's squad, but look for the Wolfpack to get the job done behind Glennon and the offense.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: NC State 34, Central Michigan 18