Steve Jones

@stevejones_cj

What does Louisville coach Bobby Petrino think is the key to handling a clock-killing, slow-it-down style like the one the Cardinals saw from Duke?

"The first thing I do is stay awake," Petrino joked Monday. "Some boring stuff. Just kidding."

Boring perhaps, but also pretty effective. The Blue Devils had only two plays longer than 12 yards against U of L but dominated time of possession and converted enough third downs to sustain long drives and keep U of L's high-powered offense on the sideline.

Though Petrino praised Duke for its strategy after No. 7 U of L's 24-14 win, he said Monday that he doesn't necessarily expect many other opponents, including NC State (4-2, 1-1 ACC) on Saturday, to try to replicate it.

"I think North Carolina State will come in and they'll believe in what they do," Petrino said. "They'll believe in their offense and their defense, and they'll just do what they normally do. ... They run the ball real well. They have a quarterback who's thrown for over 70 percent completions (most of the season). Defensively they line up in a four-man front, pressure a little bit, not as much as a lot of guys do. They play very sound. They make you earn it. ... They're very impressive."

Petrino, whose team has defeated the Wolfpack in back-to-back years, said he wasn't surprised to see NC State play Clemson closely on Saturday, losing 24-17 in overtime. The Wolfpack missed a field-goal try late in regulation that would have won it.

Petrino, whose Cards are 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the league, said he watched the Clemson-NC State game Saturday afternoon.

"We know (the Wolfpack) well," Petrino said. "We've been battling the same coaches and mostly the same players for two years now. I knew that would be a close, hard-fought football game, as Clemson did going into the game. You can put the video on and watch North Carolina State and see the physicalness of their defensive front, offensive front. ... They're really good."