College Briefs HINES, FINLEY HELP WOLFPACK BEAT CARDS

Nyheim Hines ran for two touchdowns and Ryan Finley threw for another to help No. 24 North Carolina State beat No. 17 Louisville 39-25 on Thursday night.

Hines ran for 102 yards and had a 48-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter that helped set up a touchdown drive for the Wolfpack (5-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Finley threw for 367 yards and a 48-yard score to Kelvin Harmon, part of N.C. State’s 520 total yards on a night it never trailed against the Cardinals (4-2, 1-2).

Then there was the Wolfpack’s defensive front, which kept the pressure on reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.

Jackson ran for his second touchdown to pull the Cardinals to 32-25 with 4:10 left, then got the ball back with a chance to tie it. But linebacker Germaine Pratt picked up a deflected pass and returned it 25 yards for a clinching score with 2:52 left.

S.D. State looks to build stadium.

DIEGO» San SAN

Diego State has hired Populous to design a football stadium in Mission Valley that could also be used by a pro soccer team.

Athletic director J.D. Wicker said SDSU wants a 35,000-seat stadium that could be expanded to 55,000 seats if the NFL ever returns to San Diego.

Footnotes.

Notre Dame junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush, who has led the 21st-ranked Irish to a 4-1 start, is still recovering from a right foot strain that has been bothering him since Notre Dame’s 52-17 victory over Miami (Ohio) last Saturday. He will be a game-time decision against North Carolina. … With his team ranked last in the Big Ten in total offense and just 73 points through four games, coach Lovie Smith has made Jeff George Jr. the No. 1 quarterback nearly 30 years after George’s father ran the Illini offense on the way to becoming the NFL’s top draft pick. … Rutgers gave athletic director Pat Hobbs a new contract less than two years after he took over the department that was reeling from a football scandal that led to the firing of coach Kyle Flood and AD Julie Hermann.