By Gavin Lapaille

Many consider the Atlantic Coast Conference among the elite in college football. The University of Louisville must have missed the memo.

In the last five seasons the Cards are 6-2 against teams from the ACC, including some of the biggest wins in school history.

Last season, the Cards defeated then-No. 15 University of Miami during the regular season, then took down ACC Champion then-No. 12 Wake Forest University in the Orange Bowl.

In 2002, U of L shocked then-No. 4 Florida State University, the highest ranked team a U of L team had ever defeated up until that point.

The Cards also have a pair of wins over the University of North Carolina and one against Duke University since 2002.

U of L hopes the success continues this weekend against ACC foe North Carolina State University Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C.

The U of L – N.C. State match-up will be one of three games between the Big East and ACC this week. The University of Pittsburgh will take on the University of Virginia while Rutgers University will battle the University of Maryland.

“We’re a BCS conference and the strongest point we can make, I think, is that we don’t have to prove ourselves anymore,” Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said. “We are a solid BCS conference, maybe one of the better ones, maybe not. But we’re in the room. We’re solid in the room. There’s no going back.”

The Wolfpack, however, still need to prove a few things.

N.C. State hasn’t finished higher than fourth in the ACC since 1994. The last time the Wolfpack won the conference championship was in 1979.

Last season, N.C. State lost their last seven games on their way to a 3-9 record and the firing of head coach Chuck Amato. New head coach Tom O’Brien hasn’t fared much better, losing the first two games of the season before a win over Division I-AA Wofford College.

“Every time I say something good it’s one step forward and two steps back,” O’Brien told gopack.com. “I don’t think we’re too far off from having a decent football team, but we still have to do it.”

Injuries have taken a toll on the Wolfpack. Junior running back Toney Baker, senior tight end Anthony Hill and senior defensive tackle DeMario Pressley are all out indefinitely with knee injuries.

The loss of Baker, the team’s leading rusher last season, may be hurting the worst. In the first two games of his absence, N.C. State amassed just 145 yards on the ground.

“This is a tough situation for Toney and for our football team,” O’Brien said.

Kickoff for the game will be at 3:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised by ESPNU.