Lightning knocks out NC State scoreboard during delay against Notre Dame

As NC State and Notre Dame entered a weather delay on Saturday, the new scoreboard at Carter-Finley Stadium went out due to lightning. Storms were in the Raleigh area all morning Saturday, and they finally interrupted the game between the Fighting Irish and Wolfpack early in the second quarter.

NC State’s $15 million scoreboard was unveiled during the game after the university upgraded from the previous system. However, after just one quarter of play, it went out and had to completely reboot due to the weather in the area.

At the time of the delay, Notre Dame held a 3-0 lead over NC State.

A lightning strike just momentarily put NC State’s brand new video board out pic.twitter.com/DaYfrC4te2

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) September 9, 2023

Notre Dame got on the board first with a 54-yard field goal from Spencer Shrader in the first quarter. The Fighting Irish had just taken over a new set of downs after an NC State punt.

All eyes are on Sam Hartman and how he fares against Tony Gibson’s NC State defense

The game was drawing plenty of attention as Sam Hartman makes another trip to Raleigh. He played there three times at Wake Forest, totaling a 1-2 record in that time, but Saturday marked his first time taking on the Wolfpack after transferring to Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish are the favorite in the game, coming in favored by 7.5 points, according to FanDuel. NC State’s defense could again give Hartman problems, but the new-look offense will all but certainly test Notre Dame’s defense.

With Brennan Armstrong reunited with Robert Anae, NC State got off to a quick start to the season last week against UConn. Armstrong threw for 155 yards on 17 of 26 passing, but made his presence known on the ground with a team-high 96 yards and two touchdowns as the Wolfpack came away with the 24-14 victory.

It’s shaping up to be an interesting battle in Raleigh, and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman knows it won’t be easy going up against Tony Gibson’s defense.

“Not many quarterbacks have been very successful against this defense,” Freeman said. “So, we’ve got to make sure our plan is really clean and you don’t want a huge plan. Let’s be confident in what we’re doing. It’s a unique defense, the 3-3-5, and it’s not something you see every day. So, we have to make sure our plan is nice and tight and our guys can go out and do their job.”