Monday morning quarterbacking: Louisville 25, NC State 10

NC State football has suffered a rash of late-season injuries and the net result showed during a 25-10 loss at Louisville on Saturday afternoon. The defeat led to the Wolfpack’s first losing streak since 2020.

The Wolfpacker takes a final look at the contest with some Monday morning quarterbacking:

Key Moment Of The Game

The Wolfpack was trailing 16-10 when NC State football coach Dave Doeren faced a crucial decision. Facing fourth and inches at NC State’s own 45-yard line and less than 13 minutes remaining in the contest, Doeren had one of two choices to make.

He could go for the first down and keep the drive alive. The offense had showed promise moving the football in two prior drives, going 87 yards to score a touchdown on just 5 plays and then driving to near midfield before a false start and mishandled snap stalled the following possession. NC State was averaging 8.5 yards per play in the 15 snaps combined on those two drives plus the current possession.

Or Doeren could have punted. With the breezy wind to NC State’s backs, odds were good the Pack would pin Louisville deep, and Doeren could trust the defense to get possession back, perhaps in good field position for another drive.

Doeren chose option 1. Third-year redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Finley went under center, but rather than pushing up the middle with a QB sneak or handoff to the running back, Finley tossed the football to freshman Michael Allen for an attempt to get around the right edge. The play was well-defended, and Allen was tripped up shy of the first down.

Louisville then sprung a big pass play on the next possession to reach the 2-yard line, setting up a short TD rush that proved to put the game out of reach with 10:05 left.

Three Things That Worked For NC State Football

1. Switching to Finley: Finley was far from perfect. The offense only scored 10 points in this game, and Finley completed less than half of his passes (16 of 35). He also got away with multiple passes that should have been intercepted.

However, in the three drives that were solely led by senior starter Jack Chambers, NC State had just 23 yards of total offense. Chambers’ struggles throwing the football, completing just 2 of 7 passes for 13 yards with several misfires to open receivers, made clear that Finley was the better option at moving the football.

All 10 of NC State’s points were led on drives that either were solely or primarily quarterbacked by Finley.

2. Defense (when not having their backs against the wall): Seven of Louisville’s 25 points came off a kickoff return for a score. The Cards’ lone other TD was set up by the aforementioned failed fourth-down conversion in Wolfpack territory. Two other field goals for the Cards were on drives that started at the 50 and the NC State 39.

The NC State defense only allowed six points when Louisville started possessions in their own territory. The Cards actually had fewer first downs (16) than NC State (20), and the Pack held UL to just 6 of 17 on third-down conversions.

3. Competing: NC State was helped by Louisville star quarterback Malik Cunningham being unavailable, but the fact is that the Wolfpack’s already below-average offense was severely shorthanded. This was also the first game after a demoralizing loss at home to Boston College that ended with a controversial call in which certain victory was taken away.

Given the cold temperatures, breezy conditions, road environment and personnel disadvantage, many teams would have put forth a dispirited effort.

Yet twice NC State had the football in the second half with the chance to take the lead.

Three Areas Where NC State Football Struggled

1. Offense: Although Finley provided a spark, NC State still finished with just 291 total yards and gave up 5 sacks. Most importantly, the offense only accounted for only 10 points.

2. Kickoff coverage: If the fourth-down failure in the fourth quarter was not the key moment of the game, then giving up a 98-yard kickoff return for a score to Louisville junior running back Jawhar Jordan would have been.

NC State had just tied the game 3-3 in the second quarter when Jordan initially mishandled the bounce on the short kickoff into the wind. He had to retreat to the 2-yard line to field the football. NC State should have had Jordan tackled inside the 20-yard line, at worst. Instead, Jordan found a wide-open lane and went the distance for a 98-yard score.

3. Limiting explosive plays: Louisville finished with 345 total yards, with 108 of those coming on just three plays. The game’s first points were a short field goal set up by a 38-yard pass to junior tight end Marshon Ford after Louisville took over at midfield.

With the Cards leading 13-10 late in the third quarter, Jordan ripped off a 34-yard run to set up another short field goal. (That drive was also aided by two pass interference penalties and an offsides flag on NC State). The back-breaking TD after the fourth-down stop for Louisville came one play after a 36-yard pass to junior receiver Tyler Hudson.

Position-By-Position Battles

NC State football’s offensive line vs. Louisville’s defensive front

For the second straight week, the NC State offensive line struggled. Louisville is one of the more disruptive defensive fronts in the country, entering Saturday second in the country in sacks per game. They padded that total with 5 more vs. the Wolfpack. The Cards also had 6 quarterback hurries.

NC State football’s defensive front vs. Louisville’s offensive line

Louisville averaged a healthy 4.9 yards per rush and gave up just 1 sack. The Cards were able to win this game up front on both sides of the football.

NC State football’s wide receivers vs. Louisville’s secondary

A lack of accuracy from the NC State quarterbacks probably limited what the Wolfpack wideouts could do, but the Pack receivers held their own when given a chance. Super senior Darryl Jones caught 4 passes for 60 yards in one of his better performances of the year.

NC State football’s secondary vs. Louisville’s wide receivers

Defending Hudson was a problem. He caught 6 passes for 85 yards. However, the rest of the receiving corps was shut down by NC State. The only other pass caught by a Cardinals wideout went for a 10-yard loss.

Quarterbacks

There was not a lot of good quarterbacking on the field. Louisville’s Brock Domann completed less than half of his passes, too (12 of 25). However, Domann did have some timely runs that surprised NC State, and he had a couple of big pass plays that proved crucial.

Running backs

Jordan was the game’s MVP. In addition to his kickoff return for a score, he ran 16 times for 105 yards and a touchdown and also caught a 13-yard pass.

Tight ends/fullbacks

Ford is one of the best receiving tight ends in the ACC and that showed. He caught 3 passes for 63 yards against NC State.

Special teams

NC State has been one of the best special teams units in the country, but the kickoff return for a score made this a clear win for Louisville.