UNC looks to rebound vs. rival

When: Noon, Saturday

Where: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, N. C.

TheWake Bailey: Junior Bailey Hockman gets a second chance as N. C. State’s starting quarterback after sophomore Devin Leary went down with a broken fibula in last week’s victory against Duke.

The Wolfpack is hoping to see the Hockman who directed a seasonopening victory against Wake Forest and not the one who was replaced by Leary after tossing two interceptions in game two against Virginia Tech.

Contain explosive receivers: North Carolina boasts one of the top receiving corps in the ACC, led by Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown. Those two, alongwith Beau Corrales, have the potential to create big plays on every down.

Containing them will be a major challenge for N. C. State’s secondary, which has been hurt by injuries and ejections in recentweeks. Nine of the 11 players on the Wolfpack’s secondary depth chart for Saturday are true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores, so it’ll be a youthful group trying to hang with UNC’s veteran receiver corps.

Keys for North Carolina

Pressure the QB: Despite being aggressive with its blitzes, UNC hasn’t racked up a large number of sacks through the first four games. The Tar Heels rank in the middle of theACCwith12 entering Saturday’s game.

But ramping up that pass rush against theWolfpack will be essential to keep Hockman off balance and force him into making quick decisions that could result in turnovers.

Pound ’ em with the run: When you have a running back tandem like Michael Carter and Javonte Williams, you have to turn them loose early and often. If they’re successful racking up yards early, it will serve two purposes. First, it’ll wear down N. C. State’s defense, especially its front- line players. Second, it’ll loosen up the secondary and give quarterback Sam Howell to take some shots downfield with his big- play receiving corps.

Prediction

North Carolina 36, N. C. State 21: This is a heated rivalry, so anything can happen. But with the Wolfpack missing an important piece on offense in quarterback Devin Leary, and the Tar Heels anxious to redeem themselves after last week’s embarrassing loss against Florida State, this should be a second straight win in the series for UNC.

DON JUAN MOORE/ CHARACTER LINES UNC senior receiver Beau Corrales ( 15), who had four catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in last week’s loss at Florida State, is one of several weapons available to quarterback Sam Howell.