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FACTS & STATS: Site: BB&T Field (31,500) -- Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Television: ESPN U. Home Record: NC State 3-1, Wake Forest 2-1. Away Record: NC State 0-0, Wake Forest 0-1. Neutral Record: NC State 0-0, Wake Forest 0-0. Conference Record: NC State 0-0, Wake Forest 0-1. Series Record: NC State leads, 61-35-6.

GAME NOTES: The NC State Wolfpack open their ACC schedule on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem.

In addition to this weekend's contest marking the Wolfpack's first league game, it will also be their first road tilt of the season. NC State opened the campaign with four straight home games, the most recent of which was a 38-31 triumph over Pittsburgh last weekend. The Wolfpack will now turn around and play three of their next four on the road.

Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons just got their first road game under their belts last weekend after three straight home games to start the season. However, things didn't go so well at Boston College last Saturday, as a miscue in overtime cost Wake Forest in a 27-24 final. The Demon Deacons have another home game against Maryland next weekend before playing four of their final six on the road.

The Wolfpack hold a 61-35-6 edge in the all-time series, although Wake Forest has won three of the last four meetings.

NC State quarterback Russell Wilson earned ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors for his performance against previously unbeaten Pitt. In the win, the redshirt sophomore accounted for 78 percent of NC State's total offensive output. Wilson threw for 322 yards and tossed four touchdown passes for a third consecutive game. He also led the team with a career-high 91 rushing yards. With the team trailing 31-17 late in the third quarter, Wilson led the Pack on three long touchdown drives to take the lead. His 12 touchdown passes on the season ranks second in the nation, while his 364 consecutive pass attempts without an interception is an NCAA record. And he has some weapons at his disposal. Halfback Tony Baker is averaging 5.2 ypc and has scored seven touchdowns in four games. Tight end George Bryan leads the team with 16 catches to go along with his three touchdown grabs.

Statistically, it's hard to ignore the success NC State has had defensively. The Wolfpack currently lead the nation in total defense, having allowed just 201 ypg. However, those stats were certainly aided by the fact that they've played FCS schools Murray State and Gardner-Webb. And Pitt managed to put 31 points on the board last weekend. Panther running back Dion Lewis ran for 79 yards in the first half, but the Wolfpack defense made some adjustments and held him to just 16 rushing yards the rest of the way. Still, as head coach Tom O'Brien pointed out this week, there is still room for improvement. In addition to avoiding slow starts, one area that could improve is sloppy tackling, as NC State missed more than 20 tackles against Pitt, by O'Brien's count. This unit will be tested against a very capable Wake Forest offense, though by all indications, they appear to be up to the challenge.

The Demon Deacons lead the ACC in total offense, averaging 412.2 ypg. Still, they aren't without their flaws on that side of the ball. Against Boston College, Riley Skinner completed 25-of-35 passes for 354 yards and two TDs. He forced overtime by leading his team on two long touchdown drives in the waning moments of regulation. Then again, Skinner also threw an interception and lost a fumble on the four-yard line during overtime, which cost the Deacs the game. The fumble occurred on a broken play in which nobody was in position to take a handoff, and the timing of the miscue could not have been any worse. The bitter ending overshadowed solid performances by Marshall Williams (12 rec, 180 yds, TD) and Devon Brown (five rec, 101 yds).

The Wake Forest defense hasn't given up a ton of points (18.75 ppg), but they've yielded an average of 355 ypg, which ranks 10th in the conference. The bend-but-don't-break mentality will be put to task against an NC State offense that has been successful moving the football in a number of ways. Wake's defense held its own over the final quarter-and-a-half against BC. And in overtime, the Demon Deacons managed to keep the Eagles out of the end zone. But they struggled a bit early on, as BC freshman quarterback Dave Shinskie had three touchdown passes, and sophomore running back Josh Haden piled up 93 rushing yards on 17 carries. Head coach Jim Grobe wants to see his defense get off to a better start this week. He said problems stemmed from players not lining up properly, which has been addressed at practice this week. Grobe also said he wants to see his defensive backs to a better job in coverage and play with more discipline.

The Wolfpack have gotten off to a solid start, but they haven't played any road games and they've yet to face an ACC opponent. That all changes this week, as they run into a Demon Deacons squad that is hungry to make amends for the way last week's game ended.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Wake Forest 34, NC State 24