NC State Drops Their Fourth Straight As They Get Topped By Louisville In Raleigh

Duke wasn’t the only team in the triangle to suffer their fourth straight loss on Saturday as the team located in North Carolina’s state capital also suffered their fourth straight loss as they lost to Louisville in Raleigh.

Trailing 10-7 at the half, visiting Louisville scored three third quarter touchdowns and claimed a 34-20 win at Carter-Finley Stadium. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

After a scoreless first quarter, Louisville opened the scoring with a 43-yard TD pass three minutes into the second quarter.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

NC State responded with a field goal on its next possession. PK Christopher Dunn's 28-yard field goal capped a 10-play, 54-yard drive. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

The Pack captured the lead with 4:01 left in the first half, as Devin Leary found Emeka Emezie from 15 yards out. NC State took over the possession on the Louisville 27-yard line thanks to just a 17 yard punt and went into the half with a 10-7 lead. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

The Cardinals retook the lead three plays into the second half, this TD pass went 75 yards. A 42-yard pass just two minutes later made the score 20-10 after a missed extra point. The Cardinals went back-to-back TDs in the first 2:30 of the second half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

A third Louisville TD of the third quarter made the score 27-10 with 4:44 left in the third.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

The Pack cut into the lead on the first minute of the fourth, as Leary found Ricky Person, Jr., on a 16-yard pass to make the score 27-17. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

The Cardinals converted a fake field goal, and threw a fifth TD pass with 9:42 left to increase their lead to 34-17. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

A Dunn 27-yard field goal made the final score 34-20. The kick was his 18th of the season. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/11/16/football-wolfpack-drops-home-contest-to-louisville.aspx

While NC State dropped their fourth straight Louisville bounced back from their previous game a loss to Miami down in Coral Gables Florida.

Micale Cunningham threw four TD passes as Louisville clinched bowl eligibility Saturday night with a 34-20 win over N.C. State.

The big-play passing game of Louisville (6-4, 4-3 ACC) proved too much to handle for an N.C. State team missing its top five cornerbacks because of injury. Cunningham completed scoring passes of 43 yards to Dez Fitzpatrick, 74 yards to Tutu Atwell and 42 yards to Marshon Ford.”according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/11/16/football-louisville-airs-it-out-in-34-20-win-over-nc-state.aspx

N.C. State (4-6, 1-5), which has five starters overall out for the season due to injury, led 10-7 at halftime after a 15-yard, second-quarter scoring pass from Devin Leary to Emeka Emezie, but gave up two touchdowns in the first 2:30 of the third quarter to fall behind by a double-digit margin. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/11/16/football-louisville-airs-it-out-in-34-20-win-over-nc-state.aspx

Louisville has a reputation for big gains in the passing game as Cunningham and speedy wideouts Atwell and Fitzpatrick have stretched defenses vertically all season. The Cardinals' 17.0 yards per completion entering Saturday's game ranked fifth in the nation, and Louisville had 13 completions of at least 40 yards in its first nine games.”according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/11/16/football-louisville-airs-it-out-in-34-20-win-over-nc-state.aspx

That deep-passing ability made the Cardinals an extremely challenging matchup for the banged-up N.C. State defensive backfield. Fitzpatrick got wide open behind the defense for the first touchdown of the game, and the speedy Atwell got matched up with a linebacker for the go-ahead score on the opening possession of the third quarter.”according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/11/16/football-louisville-airs-it-out-in-34-20-win-over-nc-state.aspx

Louisville added a fifth scoring pass on a fourth-quarter fake field goal when place-kicker Ryan Chalifoux rolled right and patiently held the ball until Ford got free of the defense for a 7-yard reception. Cunningham was 13-for-20 passing for 242 yards.”according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/11/16/football-louisville-airs-it-out-in-34-20-win-over-nc-state.aspx

NC State has a short week to prepare for their next opponent as they play Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday night.