Quick hits from NC State's 52-10 win at Louisville
Quick hits and notes from NC State’s dominating 52-10 win at Louisville in front of a generously listed 48,265 fans at Cardinal Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Louisville.
Ryan Finley watch
The sixth-year senior quarterback completed 26 of 36 passes for 316 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. The last Pack QB to have four scoring tosses in a game was Brandon Mitchell against East Carolina in 2013.
Finley now has 9,757 passing yards at NC State and moved ahead of Jamie Barnette into second most in school history. He will not catch Philip Rivers, who threw for 13,484 yards in his Wolfpack career. Finley has 56 touchdown passes, three shy of Barnette for fourth most for the Pack.
Kelvin Harmon milestone
With seven receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown, Harmon improved his season numbers to 72 receptions for 1,065 yards and six scores. All represent career-highs for Harmon.
He also became just the third player in school history to have two 1,000-yard seasons — joining NFL stars Torry Holt and Jerricho Cotchery. Harmon caught 69 passes for 1,017 yards and four touchdowns a year ago.
Harmon is unlikely to catch Cotchery for second all-time in receiving yards at NC State — if Harmon turns professional after this season — but he would need 23 receptions in the final three games (presuming he plays in the bowl) to tie Holt for third most. Saturday was Harmon’s 13th 100-yard game of his career, one away from tying Holt and Koren Robinson for second most at NC State and two shy of Cotchery’s school record.
The TD reception was his 15th, tying Owen Spencer and Robinson for seventh most in school history.
My name is…
The game provided an opportunity for NC State to feature some players that have not been prominently involved before.
That included redshirt freshman quarterback Matt McKay, who played the final drive of the game on offense and completed 5 of 6 passes for 38 yards and ran three times for 22 yards while leading the team to a touchdown.
Redshirt sophomore tight end Dylan Autenrieth caught his first two career receptions for 27 yards. Fifth-year senior Maurice Trowell had been playing corner all year but got a play in on offense and ran for nine yards on a reverse.
On defense, redshirt sophomore junior college transfer Val Martin received his first action of the season and had four tackles. Freshman safety Tyler Baker-Williams also saw his first action of the year on defense after playing the opener at running back and had a tackle.
The defense was a little short-handed Saturday. Senior defensive end Darian Roseboro was injured and did not play, and redshirt junior nickel Stephen Griffin was lost early in the game. His replacement, freshman Tanner Ingle, tied for the team-high with seven tackles and forced a fumble.
Dominating second half
NC State outscored Louisville 35-7 in the second half. The Pack rolled up 304 total yards after the break. Prior to its final 95-yard drive when Louisville was stopped at the NC State 1-yard line as time expired in the game, the Cards had been held to 133 yards (they finished with 228 yards). The Louisville turned it over three times and fumbled six times (losing two) in the second half.
NC State converted five of six third downs and only punted once, which it downed at the Louisville 1.
The third quarter set the tone for the blowout, when NC State outscored Louisville 21-0 and had 194 total yards compared to 58 for the Cards. Senior running back Reggie Gallaspy Jr. had two of those touchdowns and three in the game, including two on the ground. His 22 career rushing scores ties him with Andre Brown and Willie Burden for ninth most at NC State.
True freshmen redshirt watch
With NC State 10 games into the season, here’s a rundown of how many games the Wolfpack true freshmen have played. They can play up to four games before burning their redshirt (players with asterisk were listed on the Louisville game participation report in the box score).
Kicker Christopher Dunn, nickel Tanner Ingle, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, running back Ricky Person Jr., cornerback Teshaun Smith and cornerback De’Von Graves have previously burned their redshirts.
Safety Tyler Baker-Williams joined the group Saturday.
Kicker Christopher Dunn — 10 games*
Nickel Tanner Ingle — 10 games*
Defensive tackle Alim McNeill — 10 games*
Cornerback Teshaun Smith — Eight games*
Running back Ricky Person Jr. — Seven games*
Cornerback De’Von Graves — Six games*
Safety Tyler Baker-Williams — Five games*
Linebacker C.J. Hart — Four games
Running back Trent Pennix — Four games
Defensive end Derrick Eason — Three games
Cornerback Malik Dunlap — Two games
Defensive end Joe Boletepeli — One game
Wide receiver Devin Carter — One game
What the win means
NC State is 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the ACC, while Louisville is 2-9 and finishes 0-8 in the conference. The Pack is 3-6 all-time against the Cards, and this is NC State's first win on the road in the series.
Related link: Louisville has been a tough venue for NC State
NC State is 11-13 in the month of November under sixth-year head coach Dave Doeren.
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