It’s must-win time for the NC State football team. After a devastating 31-30 loss to Miami on the road last week, the Wolfpack returns to Carter-Finley for the first time in nearly a month to host the Louisville Cardinals.
Though NC State’s loss to Miami was crushing, and it definitely took the wind out of the Wolfpack’s faithful sails, it doesn’t mean ACC Championship game aspirations are completely gone.
The biggest story entering this game is how defensive coordinator Tony Gibson will address the linebacker room after the season-ending injury to redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore. Moore marks the fourth defensive starter to go down for the year, with graduate safety Cyrus Fagan, redshirt freshman defensive tackle C.J. Clark and a fellow linebacker in redshirt sophomore, Payton Wilson.
“That’s the way it goes,” said head coach Doeren. “My heart breaks for Isaiah … he means a lot to our program. … You know, no one says life is fair. And no one says that good things always happen to good people. That’s just not how it works. And Isaiah is very spiritual. He’s in a great place with God, and I know that he’ll take this recovery the right way. I think he’ll continue to be a great leader for our team. I know he will and we’ll be here to support him.”
Because the team is missing two of its starting linebackers — arguably the most talented position group on the Pack roster — the responsibility fell on sophomore linebacker Drake Thomas to step up. Gibson had to fly Thomas around the field against Miami and the Wolfpack will need the tackling machine to produce even more. Three linebackers in sophomore Jaylon Scott, freshman Devon Betty and redshirt junior Vi Jones will all see upticks in playing time, with Betty likely to take over Moore’s MIKE role in the defense.
“I think Jaylon Scott has stepped up and played his best football,” Doeren said. “[Graduate defensive tackle] Cory Durden has made some big plays for us. [Freshman safety] Devan Boykin came in and made some great plays in the Boston College game. And now that Devon Betty will have an opportunity to play more for us. You know, you’ll get to see Vi Jones playing more for us.”
Figuring out the linebacking corps’ rotation is going to be crucial when it comes to Louisville’s mobile offense. The Cardinals are high flying, averaging 450.9 total yards of offense per game, 201.7 of which come from the ground. Comparatively, NC State averages 424.7 yards of total offense per game and 157.3 yards per game on the ground.
In terms of points per game, Louisville clocks in at just 0.3 points below the Pack, 31.7 compared to NC State’s 32 points per game. Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is a huge reason for that.
Cunningham has 1,684 passing yards, a 63.4% completion percentage and eight touchdowns compared to four interceptions on the year. Those numbers might not pop off the page, but consider the fact that Cunningham leads the team in rushing yards and touchdowns, boasting 480 yards and a whopping 13 scores on the ground. In total, Cunningham has 2,173 yards of total offense, 21 total touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Compared to redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary, the epitome of efficiency this season, Cunningham has a similar completion percentage, 160 less passing yards and nine less passing scores. Cunningham is fresh off a win against Boston College in which he punched in three touchdowns on the ground and had over 100 rushing yards.
Historically speaking, Cunningham has fared pretty well against NC State. In 2019, He completed 13 of 20 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns. And then in 2020, Cunningham put up his first 100-yard rushing game. Louisville split those games with NC State.
Even outside of their quarterback, the Cardinals have a pretty formidable rushing attack spearheaded by the trio of Jalen Mitchell, Hassan Hall and Trevion Cooley, who have totaled 874 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Hall, in particular, boasts a deadly 7.4 rushing yards per attempt but has fumbling issues while Mitchell is their number one back with 96 attempts and 4.4 yards per attempt.
In terms of receiving, Cunningham slings the ball all over the field. Five receivers have over 200 receiving yards and only one, Tyler Harrell, has over one touchdown. It’s interesting that Harrell leads the team in receiving touchdowns considering he has just eight receptions on the year and is primarily a deep threat, registering a 34-yard average per catch.
On the defensive side of things is where the matchup gets a bit more lopsided. NC State’s receivers should have no problem in a mismatch against Louisville’s corners and Louisville’s defense allows the fifth-most points per game in the ACC.
The Cardinals are led on the defensive line by Yasir Abdullah, who has six sacks, nine tackles for loss and two pass deflections. Outside of that, Louisville takes a by-committee approach on the D-line and the matchup with a depleted NC State O-line, which will be without graduate offensive lineman Chandler Zavala for the year.
“The best way to get over a loss is to get back on the grass and get back to work,” Doeren said. “We need to focus on executing, not beating ourselves and finishing drives on offensive touchdowns. And then defending, obviously, what we’re gonna see here in their run game, their play-action game. That’s where our focus will go. That’s where we’re at. Football is a fickle game and you got to make the plays and they’re there in one-possession games and we look forward to the next opportunity.”
