LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY — A number of factors contributed to NC State football’s 52-10 win over Louisville Saturday. Among them were a strong effort from the defense, graduate quarterback Ryan Finley and facing one of the worst teams in the country.
However, one improvement from recent weeks stood out above the rest: red-zone offense. After coming into the game having scored touchdowns on just 26 of 48 red-zone trips on the season (54 percent), the Wolfpack scored six on seven red-zone trips Saturday.
“We work on it every week in practice,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “We didn’t execute last week. We dropped balls down there last week and that’s the difference. When you get down there, you have to catch the pass if you’re throwing and make the block if you’re running. We did that; we executed. I think that’s part of it. The other part, we had some good variety. … It’s all about execution in the red zone, not beating yourself with drops or penalties when you get down there. Guys did a nice job today.”
It looked like the struggles might continue early, with NC State’s first trip to the red zone resulting in a stalled drive and 23-yard field goal from freshman kicker Chris Dunn.
From there, however, the Wolfpack scored touchdowns on every drive that got inside Louisville’s 20, including three (two rushing, one receiving) from senior running back Reggie Gallaspy.
“Just executing,” Gallaspy said. “That’s all it takes. Just go out there do and your job; don’t try to be a superhero. Just go out there, do your job and it’ll come to you.”
Unlike in recent games, the Wolfpack was able to capitalize on short fields created by its defense and special teams. A forced fumble from senior defensive end James-Smith Williams in the third quarter gave NC State the ball at the Cardinals’ 22, and NC State cashed in with a rushing score from Gallaspy that made it 24-3.
The Wolfpack’s next touchdown, a 12-yard strike from Finley to sophomore receiver Emeka Emezie, came on a drive that started from Louisville’s 39 after the Pack forced the Cardinals to punt from their 2-yard line.
“Just execution, just doing our job, just enjoying it,” Finley said. “I think you saw our team have a lot of fun today and I think that’s when we play our best.”
This red-zone productivity was a marked contrast to the Wolfpack’s recent games. Two weeks ago against Florida State, NC State kicked three red-zone field goals, but still put up 47 points and won by 19.
Against Wake Forest last week, NC State’s red-zone woes were much more problematic. The Wolfpack scored just one touchdown on five red-zone trips, leaving a potential 16 points on the board and losing 27-23 in a game it should have won handily.
While the loss to Wake Forest can’t be undone, the Wolfpack did learn from its mistakes and fixed the red-zone problems to ensure it did win big against an inferior opponent. Needing to win against two other bad teams against UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina to finish the regular season with nine wins, continuing to find paydirt in the red zone will be a key for the Pack.
“That was one of the biggest things we focused on this week,” Gallaspy said. “Just making sure we scored in the red zone. … The red zone is one of the things that we have to continue building on.”
