Junior running back Andre Brown said it best following N.C. State’s 29-10 loss to Louisville on Saturday:
“The defense played a hell of a game — it’s just that we went out there and put them in bad situations,” he said.
Looking at the stats at halftime, it was obvious Louisville controlled the game. The Cardinals racked up nearly 23 minutes of possession in the first half, doubling the Wolfpack’s number of first downs (16-8), and almost doubling State’s total offensive production (281-150).
And yet, with the score at 16-3, and the Pack getting the ball after halftime, State was still in the game.
The third quarter rolled around, and State managed its lone touchdown of the game, a two-yard pass from redshirt junior quarterback Daniel Evans to redshirt freshman fullback Ced Hickman.
If you told me before the game the Pack would only be down by six points going into the fourth quarter, well first, I wouldn’t have believed you, and second, I would have pegged State’s chances at winning the game to be decent at worst — pretty good at best.
Louisville’s Heisman-candidate quarterback Brian Brohm had thrown for more than 300 yards in each of his previous seven games. But State’s defensive backs did a good job bottling up the potent Cardinal air attack.
It doesn’t sound like much consolation to say the Pack held the Cardinals to 498 yards, but Louisville was averaging almost 620 yards of total offense per game.
Brohm was averaging more than 420 yards passing per game — 100 yards more than State’s total offense per game. To hold Brohm to 251 yards was a solid job, defensively.
That’s just it, too — the defense played as well as anyone could have hoped. But when you leave a defense on the field for almost 40 minutes — an unacceptable two-thirds of the game — even the best defenses in the country will crack and allow points.
When it comes down to it, the latest in a long line of disappointing losses can be placed on the offense.
Louisville’s defense was giving up an average of almost 440 yards per game, and State managed 334.
Whenever the Pack managed a big play and seemed to be gaining momentum, State turned the ball over. Turnovers are becoming a trademark of this season’s team, like penalties were a trademark of the later Chuck Amato teams.
The Pack committed five turnovers in a game for the second time this season — three fumbles and two interceptions, bringing its season total to 18. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Harrison Beck threw an interception in the end zone when a touchdown would have tied the game. Beck added a fumble of his own in addition to Brown’s two fumbles.
If this season is going to turn out any better than last season’s 3-9 debacle, State simply must convert opportunities, especially opportunities that follow momentum plays.
Freshman defensive back DeAndre Morgan made his first career start and blocked a field goal — State’s first blocked field goal in nearly four years, sending the crowd into a frenzy and allowing the offense to enter the game on a surge of adrenaline.
Instead of capitalizing like successful teams must do, the drive ended with the aforementioned interception in the end zone.
When I think of the Pack’s offense, I think of two big-time gamebreakers: Brown and senior wide receiver Darrell Blackman. These are the guys who are going to make the plays that end up as highlights.
Blackman didn’t have a bad game, catching four passes for 44 yards, but Brown dropped the ball Saturday, figuratively and literally. He broke off a 44-yard run, and he fumbled the next carry. He’s on the field in the fourth quarter with the team driving to pull State closer, and the ball hits the ground again.
If State’s going to be successful, it needs Brown to take the ball to the end zone instead of putting the ball on the ground.
“I feel bad,” Brown said. “I shouldn’t let the ball go. I’m hurting right now. I feel like I let my team down.”
Brown has the skills to be one of the top running backs in the ACC, maybe even the whole country. He’ll need to use them if State is going to turn around its rapidly crumbling season.
O’Brien simply said the team “can’t fumble the football” if it expects to win games.
“There’s no excuse for fumbling the football,” O’Brien said.
No, there’s not. And unless the Pack can find a cure for its turnover bug, a 3-9 record will quickly become a best-case scenario.