The Wolfpack react: NC State coach Dave Doeren and his players defend the defense
N.C. State linebacker Drake Thomas sat down for his postgame press availability and he had one of his teammates with him.
Nobody was physically sitting at the table with Thomas, but he had fellow linebacker Isaiah Moore on his chest. Thomas was wearing one of Moore’s shirts he made and is able to sell thanks to the NIL deal that passed over the summer.
Thomas took over as the voice of the defense, especially the linebacker unit, after first Payton Wilson and recently Moore went down with season-ending injuries.
N.C. State is down four starters on defense after losing Moore last weekend. When it was announced that Moore was done, a lot of hopes went out the window from supporters. Many people thought the loss of four starters on that side of the ball would be too much to overcome.
So many “supporters” wrote off the Wolfpack. The guys inside the facility noticed and embraced it.
“We took it personally, everyone counting us out,” Thomas said. “The defense especially with all the injuries, and we appreciate that. We built off of it.”
N.C. State’s defense held Louisville (4-4, 2-3) to a season-low 13 points in a 15-point Wolfpack win.
N.C. State (6-2, 3-1) came into the game ranked No. 1 in the ACC in total defense and rushing defense. Louisville rushed for 215 yards, the most anyone has gained on the ground versus the Pack all season. But when the Cardinals needed just two yards to keep a drive going, Thomas and company stopped them short. On 4th and 3, Vi Jones, filling in for Moore, stopped Malik Cunningham one yard short of the chains.
Cunningham, Louisville’s leading rusher, finished with 76 yards on the ground. Averaging 4.2 yards per carry, Cunningham rushed for 11 yards on his final three carries, for an average of 3.6.
The defense stepped up when it counted the most, holding the Louisville offense, averaging 33.1 points per contest, to one touchdown. That touchdown came on the last play of the first quarter for the Cardinals and covered 76 yards. N.C. State held UL to 77 yards in the second quarter.
“That defense showed a ton of heart,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said. “You guys know who’s hurt.”
Hurt or not, the guys who suited up got two fourth down stops on Louisville and an interception by Shyheim Battle. The Wolfpack got their hands on at least two more passes that could have been turnovers. Cunningham burned N.C. State for the one long pass to end the first quarter, but defended the deep pass well the rest of the way. Thomas played lights out, finishing with 15 tackles and 2.0 sacks. Daniel Joseph and Cory Durden also got to the quarterback.
Jones, in his first start this season, was third on the team with seven stops.
“It was a good game for him,” Doeren said about Jones. “Vi being as athletic as he is on the edge, it’s nice having him.”
Jones will be a key contributor moving forward for the Wolfpack, who head to Tallahassee for a game versus Florida State next weekend. The offense, led by Devin Leary and his four touchdown passes, came alive late, but it was the defense that kept it close. After the Cardinals scored on the last play of the first quarter, their next three drives ended in an interception and two punts. They turned the ball over on downs three times in the second half.
N.C. State’s defense found its groove, fired up by the outside noise.
“I’d say that was a huge motivator, people counting us out,” Thomas said. “We don’t try to buy into too much of the outside noise, but in that room, as a defense, we counted on each other and we knew we could do it, we believed in ourselves and that’s really all we needed.”
