Here are the various headlines and tweets for Sunday, Nov. 17.
What they're saying
• Matt Carter, TheWolfpacker.com — Column: Different script but same storyline for NC State
For a half it looked promising for NC State football. At that point, you wondered that perhaps Saturday night would provide the glimmer of hope that the light was at the end of the tunnel for a young football beset by injuries.
The Wolfpack led 10-7 at halftime, a result that sent some in the press box at Carter-Finley Stadium scurrying through the game notes to see when was the last time NC State actually led at the break. (Answer: Oct. 10 vs. Syracuse.)
Even the two players who limped off the field in the first half, fifth-year senior defensive lineman Larrell Murchison and freshman running back Zonovan Knight returned to action before half. Perhaps even the injury luck might be turning, too.
It took a meager nine plays to for the realities of a nothing-go-right season to come crashing down in the second half.
• Joe Giglio, Raleigh News and Observer — NC State running out of chances to save the season
There was a flickering moment of hope for N.C. State on Saturday night.
After sleeping through the past month, the Wolfpack had a chance to wake up against Louisville just in time to save its season. N.C. State (4-6, 1-5 ACC) even put together its best half of the season on defense and led the Cardinals 10-7 at the half.
“That (first half) is what I like to see,” senior safety Jarius Morehead said. “And then it started falling off.”
And quickly. By the end of the third quarter, the Ambien kicked in and N.C. State was down for the count. Louisville scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to break the game open for a 34-20 win.
The blitzes that were coming home for N.C. State’s defense in the first half were now pressures instead of sacks. The “keep everything in front of you” safe mentality turned into a “uh, oh, he’s behind you” fire drill.
There was a fumble on offense (the third turnover of the game) and a couple of pass interference penalties. In short, if it could go wrong, it did for N.C. State in the third quarter.
Asked what changed after a strong first half and what went wrong in the second half, Morehead summed it up thusly: “Everything, to be honest.”
• Adam Smith, Burlington Times-News — Wolfpack’s margin for error disappears in loss
No more margin of error left for North Carolina State.
The Wolfpack suffered a second-half meltdown and fell 34-20 against Louisville in Atlantic Coast Conference football Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium, a fourth straight loss that backed its chances of going to a bowl into a must-win corner.
N.C. State (4-6 overall, 1-5 ACC) now has to go on the road and beat Georgia Tech, and then defeat rival North Carolina to close the regular season in order to reach the six-victory threshold that’s required for becoming bowl eligible.
“We’re going to keep fighting,” N.C. State defensive back Jarius Morehead said. “It’s not the last game, we can still get in a bowl. That’s what our job is and that’s what our goal is.”
The Wolfpack’s 10-7 halftime lead evaporated here on this chilly and windy night as Louisville quarterback Micale Cunningham threw four touchdown passes, underscored by big-play strikes of 43, 74 and 42 yards.
The victory meant the surprising Cardinals (6-4, 4-3) will participate in a bowl in their first season under Scott Satterfield, the Orange High School graduate and former Appalachian State coach. Louisville players celebrated by dousing Satterfield with a water bucket as the final seconds ticked away.
Louisville needed a bounce back performance after its loss at Miami last weekend.
Through the first 30 minutes of Saturday’s game at NC State, though, the Cardinals looked like the same team that got routed by the Hurricanes.
But in the second half, Louisville returned to the form so many have seen this season. An opportunistic defense held NC State’s offense at bay enough to allow its own offense to connect on a few big plays.
Riding its second-half effort the Cardinals defeated NC State 34-20 and clinched bowl eligibility in the process. Louisville (6-4, 4-3) will return to the postseason after missing it last year for the first time since 2009.
The performance wasn’t perfect though. Louisville trailed 10-7 heading into halftime, to a NC State team (4-6, 1-5) that had not led in a game since beating Syracuse on Oct. 10.
Much like the Miami game, Louisville hurt itself with poor penalties and special teams play. The Cardinals had six penalties for 34 yards to go along with a missed 44-yard field goal from Ryan Chalifoux and a 17-yard punt by Mason King that set up a NC State touchdown.
• Tristan Tucker, Technician — Electric Louisville offense too much for depleted Wolfpack defense
The NC State football team (4-6, 1-5 ACC) took on the Louisville Cardinals (6-4, 4-3 ACC) in its second consecutive Saturday night game inside Carter-Finley Stadium in a 34-20 losing effort. The Pack held its own in the first half, owning a 10-7 lead at the break. However, the high-flying Cardinals offense proved to be too much for the hurt Wolfpack defense.
“I love the competitive spirit of my football team,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “I think they are battling, I do. They have spirit. We’ve got to make more plays that are there to be made. We had two third and 12s where defensively, they scored touchdowns on us. That should be off the field.”
This is the fourth straight game the Pack has given up a significant amount of points to an ACC opponent, doing the same at Boston College, at Wake Forest and against Clemson. Louisville quarterback Micale Cunningham finished the game with 251 all-purpose yards, four touchdowns in the air and no interceptions.
Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Devin Leary finished the game with 266 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns and one interception, as well as two fumbles, one of which was another inexplicable drop. As a whole, the Pack had four fumbles in the game and three turnovers overall, all coming from freshmen, including freshman running back Zonovan Knight.
“Bam [Knight] can’t fumble,” Doeren said. “And obviously, Devin’s got to take care of the football, but he continues to not get rattled and do some good things as the game goes on.”
Headlines
• The Wolfpacker — Column: Different script but same storyline for NC State
• The Wolfpacker — Quick hits from NC State’s loss to Louisville
• The Wolfpacker — Notebook: NC State youthful mistakes proved costly
• The Wolfpacker — Podcast: Postgame reflections
• The Wolfpacker — Video/audio: Dave Doeren sees progress, but areas for improvement
• The Wolfpacker — Notebook: NC State’s centers are producing
• The Wolfpacker — Quick hits from NC State’s win over St. Francis Brooklyn
• The Wolfpacker — Senior guard Shakeel Moore knew time was right
• The Wolfpacker — Senior guard Shakeel Moore excited to pick NC State
• The Wolfpacker — Audio/video: NC State coach Kevin Keatts pleased with victory
• Associated Press — Louisville airs it out in 34-20 win over NC State
• Associated Press — C.J. Bryce leads NC State with double-double in 95-64 win
• Raleigh News and Observer — NC State running out of chances to save the season
• Raleigh News & Observer — Second-half surge leads Louisville past NC State
• Raleigh News and Observer — CJ Bryce leads NC State to rout of St. Francis (NY)
• Burlington Times-News — Wolfpack’s margin for error disappears in loss
• Burlington Times-News — Wolfpack shows size, power
• Technician — Bad third quarter dooms Wolfpack football
• Technician — Electric Louisville offense too much for depleted Wolfpack defense
• Technician — NC State dominates first Reynolds Coliseum game
• GoPack.com — Pack cruises past Terriers, 95-64
• GoPack.com — Wolfpack drops home contest to Louisville
• GoPack.com — Both cross country squads earn NCAA Championships bids
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