NC State football quick hits and notes from the Wolfpack’s loss to Louisville
With the game on the line, NC State’s defense made a much-needed stop to force Louisville to punt with less than two minutes left. But on the Wolfpack’s first play after the punt, graduate quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw an errant pass as he was hit that was intercepted to end the contest.
Armstrong finished the night 13-for-25 for 112 yards and two interceptions as Louisville scored 13 unanswered points to beat NC State 13-10 Friday night at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Here are the quick hits and notes from NC State’s loss to Louisville.
NC State’s offense struggles
The Wolfpack couldn’t find a rhythm in the second half, and failed to score after putting up 10 points in the opening frame against the Cardinals. NC State recorded 201 total yards on the night, the fewest in a contest since a 2014 41-0 loss at Clemson, with 112 passing yards and 89 rushing.
Armstrong turned the ball over three times — two interceptions and a fumble — while the Wolfpack averaged 3.6 yards per play.
After the final interception sealed the Wolfpack’s fate, the NC State faithful rained down with boos as Louisville knelt to end the contest.
Wolfpack defense plays lights out opening half
While it took time for NC State’s offense to get rolling in the first half, its defense did its job in the opening 15 minutes. The Wolfpack forced two turnovers — redshirt sophomore safety Sean Brown caused a fumble and a redshirt junior cornerback Shyheim Battle interception — to kill two Cardinals’ drives.
The Wolfpack took advantage of the short field after the interception as graduate kicker Brayden Narveson nailed a 48-yard field goal as the first half game to a close.
In addition to the two forced turnovers, NC State’s defense shutout Louisville in the opening half — the first time the Cardinals haven’t scored in the first 30 minutes this season. Louisville entered the game averaging 26 points in the first half through its first four games this fall.
The lights out frame from the defense included four quarterback hurries and a graduate linebacker Payton Wilson pass breakup. Brown paced the Wolfpack defense in the opening half with six total tackles — he finished with eight on the night.
NC State finds success with collapsing the pocket on Plummer
Coming into the contest, Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer struggled throwing the ball under pressure. While NC State recorded six quarterback hurries in the contest, any time a defensive lineman collapsed the pocket on him, he struggled to hit his targets.
Plummer had two wide open receivers in the first half on back-to-back plays, but he missed his mark both times as NC State brought a blitz. On his interception to Battle, the Wolfpack only brought three rushers, but they forced the offensive line into the pocket near Plummer, who threw an underthrown ball.
Wilson brought pressure on Plummer as the Cardinals were driving early in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a redshirt junior safety Bishop Fitzgerald interception in the end zone. That pick marked the third forced turnover for the Pack.
Wolfpack run defense stands tall
Louisville entered the night with the ACC’s top rushing offense, averaging 237.3 yards per game, but NC State’s run defense shut that down. The Cardinals only rushed for 20 yards against the Wolfpack’s front seven.
Cardinals running back Jawhar Jordan, the ACC’s rushing leader entering the night (119.5 yards a game), struggled to move the ball against the Wolfpack. He finished with 16 carries for 32 yards, an average of 2.0 yards per attempt.
Rushing attack tries to pace NC State’s offense
Armstrong didn’t come out firing in the pass game early, but the Wolfpack’s rushing attack attempted to help pace the team’s offense.
The Wolfpack rushed for 89 yards, led by Armstrong’s 61 yardson 17 carries, to account for 44% of NC State’s offensive yards. Sophomore Michael Allen added eight carries for 22 yards, while redshirt junior Delbert Mimms III scored a touchdown on four carries for eight yards.
Wolfpack missing key starters
NC State was without starting center Dylan McMahon and starting safety Devan Boykin against Louisville, which was expected. NC State coach Dave Doeren has said that both players are considered “day-to-day.”
McMahon exited the Wolpack’s win over VMI in the first quarter with an apparent leg injury and has not played since. He was spotted with a brace on his right leg in Charlottesville, but he did not appear to have it on Friday night.
Boykin left the Virginia game after the first defensive play from scrimmage, and was deemed a “long shot” to play against the Cardinals. Doeren said earlier in the week that if he did not play against Louisville then Boykin should be ready to go for the Pack’s game against Marshall next week.
Without Boykin in the lineup, NC State converted redshirt sophomore wideout Jakolbe Baldwin to safety in the week leading up to the Louisville game. He did not appear in the contest on the defensive side of the ball.
What the the loss means
Louisville now holds a 9-4 all-time series record over NC State. The Pack previously beat the Cardinals in the 2017 (39-25) and 2021 (28-13) meetings at Carter-Finley Stadium, while it dropped the 2018 (34-20) home meeting.
Doeren sits at 75 career wins at NC State. He currently trails former Wolfpack coach Earle Edwards by two wins to become the winningest coach in program history. Edwards went 77-88-8 from 1954-70.
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