After winning its first four games in dominant fashions, the NC State football team failed to get anything going offensively, losing its first ACC game of the year to the Louisville Cardinals 20-13.
Ultimately, the running attack was the difference of the game for the Wolfpack. After rushing for 330 yards and seven touchdowns in the previous week against South Alabama, the Pack mustered merely 45 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, the Cardinals rushed for 203 yards.
Both teams got off to a slow start. The first big play came on a 48-yard pass from redshirt senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett to junior wide receiver Jumichael Ramos. However, as he was attempting to escape the tackle with the endzone in sight, he fumbled the ball and Louisville took over on its 8-yard line.
This costly turnover gave the Cards some momentum, as it was able to capitalize on a seven play, 92-yard drive topped off with a 68-yard touchdown run from freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson to give Louisville a 7-0 lead with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter.
The Cardinals once again went on a draining 13 play, 93-yard drive that chewed 6:15 off the clock. Jackson threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to 6-foot-6 freshman wide receiver DeVante Peete to give Louisville a 14-0 lead with 8:36 remaining in the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff, freshman wide receiver Nyheim Hines returned the ball 90 yards all the way to the opposing 10-yard line, and a facemask penalty gave the Pack the ball at the 5-yard line. Dayes scored on a 3-yard jet sweep to close the gap 14-7.
After a pair of uneventful drives, the Cards marched down the field under the command of Jackson. Louisville ended the drive with a 36-yard field goal to extend its lead, 17-7 with 1:01 remaining in the half.
Jackson led all rushers with 102 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and added 90 yards and a touchdown through the air at the half. For the Pack, Brissett went 9-of-13 for 115 yards. However, NC State managed to gain merely eight yards on the ground, which was a big reason why it was losing.
As the weather worsened, both teams again struggled on their first drives of the half. However, on the Wolfpack second drive, Dayes burst out a 28-yard rush to give it some momentum. Then, sophomore fullback Jaylen Samuels took a screen pass 21 yards to the endzone to cut the lead. However, freshman kicker Kyle Bambard missed the PAT, making the score 17-13.
Once again, State was on a promising driving when Dayes fumbled the ball to give the Cards the ball at the Wolfpack 45-yard line with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter. Louisville took advantage by kicking a 26-yard field goal to expand its lead to 20-13.
It was a horrifically uneventful fourth quarter of sloppy football, with both teams struggling to do get anything going offensively. On its final drive, Louisville chewed up 5:38 of play clock to give the Wolfpack just 1:45 with the ball at its own 5-yard line.
While a lot of Brissett’s passes were short down the stretch, he still finished the game with a respectable 183 yards and one touchdown with no interception. Dayes led the team in rushing with 68 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Samuels led the Pack in receiving with five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Airius Moore led the team with nine tackles and sophomore defensive tackle Josh Jones followed close behind with eight. Fellow sophomore defensive tackle B.J. Hill finished the game with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and one sack.
NC State looks to solve its offensive woes Oct. 9 for a Friday night matchup as it travels to Virginia Tech.
