How NC State’s offense couldn’t find a rhythm in the fourth quarter 

At the end of the first half between NC State and Louisville on Friday night, it appeared that the Wolfpack had all the momentum. It led by 10 after Brayden Narveson’s 48-yard field goal as the half came to a close, but when NC State came back out for the second half, the offense could not find the same success. 

The Wolfpack mustered 115 yards in the second half, but could only accumulate 12 in the fourth quarter, which allowed the Cardinals to escape Carter-Finley Stadium with a 13-10 win.

It started with the Pack’s first drive of the second half — its most yards in the final 30 minutes (five plays, 60 yards). But as NC State’s offense appeared to be in a position to make it a three-score lead, graduate quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s pass sailed directly into Louisville safety Cam’Ron Kelly’s hands in the end zone. 

From there, the momentum swung towards Louisville. NC State’s next three drives were punt, fumble, punt in the third quarter — and the Cardinals scored 10 points to knot the contest heading into the final period. The visiting red and white then took advantage of poor NC State drives to hold on to win in Raleigh.

“[It’s] pretty obvious what the issues were between penalties and turnovers,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said. “I thought we played a pretty good first half, and the second half wasn’t good enough. … Got a lot to fix.”

Here’s what went wrong for the Wolfpack in the fourth quarter to allow the Cardinals their third ACC win of the 2023 season:

NC State drive No. 1 — 13:03 to play, starts on its own 20-yard line after a Pack interception

Junior safety Bishop Fitzgerald intercepted Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer after the Cardinals had reached the NC State 5-yard line. But this turned out to be the Pack’s longest drive of the final quarter: six plays for 10 yards. NC State picked up its final first down of the night on third-and-two as redshirt junior running back Delbert Mimms gained two yards on the ground to meet the sticks.

But after that, the Wolfpack threw the ball three times. Armstrong looked for sophomore wideout Terrell Timmons Jr. on first down, graduate tight end Trent Pennix on second down, and senior wide receiver Keyon Lesane on third down — all three passes fell incomplete. 

Redshirt sophomore punter Caden Noonkester booted a 51-yard punt to flip the field. 

Drive recap: six plays, 10 yards with 2:18 time of possession. 

NC State drive No. 2 — 5:25 to play, starts on its own 42-yard line

After Louisville took its first lead of the night on a 53-yard field goal from kicker Brock Travelstead, it appeared that NC State was going to start with good momentum. Redshirt sophomore wideout Julian Gray returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to set the Pack at its own 40-yard line. 

But after the Wolfpack’s special teams unit gave it optimal starting field position, NC State’s offense went three-and-out for the sixth time of the night. Armstrong couldn’t connect with freshman receiver Kevin Concepcion on the sideline — he was shaken up but shortly returned — before the signal-caller found Mimms for a two-yard gain. 

With third-and-eight from its own 42-yard line, Armstrong tried to run for a first down, but he was met at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Noonkester’s punt pinned Louisville at its own 22-yard line. 

Drive recap: three plays, two yards with 1:35 time of possession. 

Louisville drive No. 2 — 3:50 to play, starts on its own 22-yard line

After NC State’s defense held Louisville to what appeared a three-and-out, the Cardinals sent the punt unit out with 2:44 to play. But on the punt, the Wolfpack were called for running into the kicker after the officials talked it over, and it gave the Cardinals a new set of downs. 

The Pack were able to force another punt three plays later to get the ball back with 1:44 to play. 

Drive recap: six plays, six yards with 1:33 time of possession.

NC State drive No. 3 — 1:44 to play, starts on its own 34-yard line.

The Wolfpack had one last chance to try to tie or win the game with plenty of time on the clock. But on its first play from scrimmage, Louisville brought pressure, and Armstrong lofted a wobbly pass up that went directly into the hands of the Cardinals’ cornerback Quincy Riley. That interception seemingly ended the contest, and allowed Louisville to kneel the clock out to finish the final quarter. 

Armstrong’s interception was his third turnover of the night — two interceptions and a lost fumble.

Drive recap: one play, 0 yards with 11 seconds time of possession. 

The Wolfpack offense recorded its fewest amount of yards (12) in a quarter this season during the final period against the Cardinals. NC State rushed three times for three yards, and Armstrong was 2-for-7 passing for nine yards. The Pack was also penalized twice for 20 yards in the final 15 minutes.

NC State averaged 1.2 yards per play across its 10 snaps in the fourth quarter, while Louisville gained four yards per play in 22 snaps in the final period. The Wolfpack picked up one first down compared to the four first downs that the Cardinals earned. Louisville gained 89 yards in the fourth quarter — nine rushing yards and 80 passing yards. 

Armstrong finished with 112 passing yards and two interceptions on 13-of-25 passing

“Nobody feels worse than Brennan does right now,” Doeren said. “We’ve got work to do with the whole team. I know he’s going to own his part of it. There were a lot of things that happened around him that made it a hard night at that position too. But every player has a part in a win, every player has a part in a loss. There’s a lot of things we’ve got to improve on.”

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