NC State scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter Saturday to rally for a 28-13 victory over visiting Louisville in front of 53,123 fans at Carter-Finley Stadium.
NCSU improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC, plus became bowl eligible. The Wolfpack Central reviews the various components of the key victory.
Most important play
Some wondered how effective redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix could be in a Jaylen Samuels kind of role at NC State, while he played at Raleigh Sanderson High. He might not have the full “Jay-Sam playbook” at his disposal, but every now and then something slick is called for Pennix.
NCSU redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary hit Pennix on a semi-delayed pass route where he slipped open over the middle for a 29-yard touchdown reception. The smooth play call gave NC State a 14-10 lead with 14:26 left in the fourth quarter, and the Wolfpack never trailed again.
Three game balls
1. Middle linebacker Drake Thomas
Every time you looked up, it appeared Thomas was making another tackle. He led the Wolfpack with 15 stops, two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Thomas filled in for the injured Moore at middle linebacker and was all over the field, just harassing Louisville star quarterback Malik Cunningham. Thomas was originally projected to be a middle linebacker in college coming out of Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage High, so it wasn’t a big surprise, but he’s just a natural in the middle of the defense and it helped the other players around perform. He helped make up for the absence of injured middle linebacker Isaiah Moore, who suffered a season-ending injury against Miami.
2. Quarterback Devin Leary
The beauty of Leary’s performance was its simplicity. He plays his best ball when he isn’t trying to force the action, which he rarely did Saturday. When he doesn’t force something, it leads to a clean game with turnovers. Leary finished 25-of-36 passing for 317 yards and four touchdowns, but just as important — zero interceptions. The redshirt sophomore now has 18 touchdowns and zero interceptions over his six games. Whether it was by design or not, it also proved helpful that redshirt sophomore wide receiver Devin Carter caught three early passes to help rejuvenate his confidence.
3. Outside linebacker Vi Jones
The book on Jones has been simple from the beginning of the season — super athletic, can play sideline-to-sideline, but what is holding back the former Rivals.com four-star prospect? The USC transfer definitely showed that he’s a force to be reckoned with while playing with Thomas at linebacker. Not many programs in the country can lose two players to injury that are the caliber of Payton Wilson and Moore, but then have another two linebackers combine for 22 tackles. Jones had seven of them — plus three quarterback hurries — and it will be fun to see how he builds off of it.
Key statistic advantage
The key to playing good defense is getting off the field and NC State made two crucial fourth-down stops that helped prevent Louisville from possibly getting points.
The Cardinals finished the game going 0 for 3 on fourth downs, and just as impressively, a salty 6 of 15 on third-down conversions. Add in a fourth-down field goal attempt from 24 yards out and the struggle was real for Louisville.
UL was leading 10-7 and facing a fourth down and three at the NCSU 38-yard line midway-through the third quarter. Cunningham took off and was stopped by Jones and safety Tanner Ingle for zero yards. If Louisville had converted and it somehow led to a touchdown, who knows how the game turns out.
The other key fourth down stop happened with 4:40 left in the game with NC State leading 21-13. Louisville needed a touchdown and two-point conversion, but were facing fourth down and two. Again, Cunningham took off running but slipped this time, though nose tackle Cory Durden was right there for the play and limited him to a one-yard gain.
What NC State did well
The statistics might not show it, but NC State’s defense did a good job of making Louisville mostly one-dimensional on offense. The game had the feel of Cunningham either making a big play with his feet (76 yards rushing) or his arm (219 yards passing). The Louisville running backs weren’t overly a concern.
Jalen Mitchell led the way with 13 carries for 69 yards, but if you take out his one big run of 33 yards, he’s reduced to 12 carries for 36, which is a more pedestrian yards per carry.
Freshman running back Trevion Cooley was next up in the backfield for UL, but the former Knightdale (N.C.) High standout only got six carries.
Louisville looked great on paper with 41 carries for 215 yards for a nifty 5.2 yards per carry, but the eye ball test didn’t pass. If the Cardinals rushing attack was truly effective, it would have led to more conversions on third down and fourth down.
What needs improvement
The reshuffled offensive line for NC State only allowed one sack, but the running game struggled. The Cardinals scheme perhaps led to that, but also helped Leary pick apart it too. That said, NC State isn’t going to defeat many quality teams rushing 24 times for just 44 yards.
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