Stanford still without Matt Rose and Brandon Nicholson for NC State; Wolfpack lose Jayden Scott

Stanford will play Friday night's home game against NC State without two of its most important defenders. According to the ACC availability report, as covered by Roundtable Sports and syndicated on Yahoo Sports, linebacker Matt Rose and defensive back Brandon Nicholson are both listed out again.

Both players went down in the Sept. 26 win over Georgia Tech. Rose made 11 tackles in that game and hasn't played since. Stanford has not said what the injury is or how long he will be out. Last season he went past 100 tackles, which Roundtable notes no Cardinal player had done in more than a decade. Nicholson's injury came without contact, right after he made an interception. Roundtable's Dylan Grausz reports that he could miss the rest of the season. Cam Richardson and Dre Pollard have been filling in at defensive back.

The list of Stanford players ruled out goes further: defensive back Breylan Thompson, offensive linemen Aidan Kilstrom and Nathan Mejia, linebacker Preston Jernegan, tight end Reiman Zebert and long snapper Peyton Warford. Defensive backs Lonnie McAllister III and Chris Garland are questionable, and Lasiah Jackson is probable.

NC State has its own problems on offense. Running back Jayden Scott, the team's leading rusher with 358 yards and four touchdowns on 62 carries, is out. So are defensive back Tristan Teasdell and tight end Vander Ploog. Wide receiver Jojo Trader and offensive tackle Kamen Smith are questionable.

What it means for Friday

Rose and Nicholson have been out for a stretch that has gone badly for Stanford's defense. In the three games since the Georgia Tech win, the Cardinal (3-4) lost 57-3 at Wake Forest and 58-7 at No. 3 Notre Dame, then beat Elon 34-7. That works out to 122 points allowed in three games. For the season, Stanford has scored 128 points and given up 256.

NC State (3-3) has been hard to read. The Wolfpack won close games against App State and Louisville, then lost 38-14 at home to Wake Forest last week. Wake Forest is the only opponent the two teams share, and it beat Stanford by 54 and NC State by 24. Without Scott, NC State has to find its offense somewhere other than its lead back, against a defense that has given up 35 or more points four times.

The stakes for Stanford are clear. A win would make the Cardinal 4-4, matching last season's win total and keeping a path to a bowl open before road games at Louisville and Virginia Tech. A loss makes that path much harder.

The board has NC State favored by 6.5 points. Novig lists the Wolfpack at -113 on that number, and the best price among the 12 venues is -110 at Hard Rock Bet. On the moneyline, Novig has NC State at -233 and Stanford at +223. The total at Novig is 55.5, with the over at -102 and the under at -106. Other venues list it between 55 and 56: Pinnacle has the over at 55 for -112, and Fanatics has the under at 56 for -115. Sportsbook hold runs from about 3.3% to 6.7% depending on the market and venue.

Kickoff is Friday, Oct. 23, on ESPN.