NC State vs Louisville football: An early underdog, Pack looks to rebound from loss
An oft-used sports adage is “Never let a loss beat you twice.” That could be N.C. State’s challenge this week.
The loss to Boston College was a crusher for the Wolfpack, one that could linger. The 21-20 loss Saturday, ending a 16-game winning streak at Carter-Finley Stadium, on Senior Day, left a lot of glum, disbelieving faces among the Pack players, coaches and disappointed fans.
NCSU coach Dave Doeren said after the game that it was hard finding the right words to say after the startling upset. Nothing was said in his postgame comments about Louisville, the Pack’s next opponent, only, “We’ll regroup and work hard to finish.”
It’s anyone’s guess how the Wolfpack (7-3, 3-3 ACC) will regroup and respond this week, facing Louisville — on its Senior Day — at Cardinal Stadium. And the Pack, which dropped out of the AP poll, might go into the road game not knowing which quarterback they will face — Malik Cunningham or Brock Domann.
Cunningham, a fifth-year senior, suffered a shoulder injury on the last play of the first half of the Cardinals’ 31-16 loss at Clemson and did not return. Domann, a junior, came in to throw for 175 yards and a late touchdown, but the Cards had their four-game win streak end.
The Pack’s MJ Morris will be coming off a game that had the freshman quarterback lose three fumbles and have a pass intercepted. Morris, in his second start, and the Pack spent much of the final three quarters trying to regain an offensive rhythm that dissipated after N.C. State took an early 14-0 lead.
“I told him he’s going to learn a lot from this film,” Doeren said. “He’s going to learn a ton watching it. He’ll grow from it and he’ll be better as he moves forward. These are the kind of mistakes that are going to happen with a young quarterback …
“But it wasn’t just things that he did. There were things that could have been done to help him a little more.”
The Pack beat the Cardinals 28-13 last year at Carter-Finley with a 21-point fourth quarter. Cunningham was 11-of-28 passing for 219 yards while Devin Leary threw for 317 yards and four scores.
Game key
For both teams, it could be an attitude adjustment.
Judging from the postgame comments made by Louisville coach Scott Satterfield, the Cardinals did not come away from the loss at Clemson despondent “We did some really good things. There’s a lot of positives to take away from this game,” Satterfield said.
The Cardinals (6-4, 3-4), with Domann at QB, had 240 total yards in the second half and wide receiver Tyler Hudson was a handful for the Tigers in the game with 11 grabs for 163 yards.
Clemson lost three fumbles and was 4-of-13 on third down against a Louisville defense led by linebacker Momo Sanogo, who had 14 tackles.
There were few positives for the Wolfpack offense, which was limited to 61 yards in the second half by BC and finished 2-for-12 on third-down conversions. Losing center Grant Gibson to an injury in the first half was a big loss for the Pack, taking away its most experienced player and offensive line leader.
The Pack defense held BC to minus-4 yards rushing — the Eagles became the first ACC team in 10 years to win a game with negative rushing yardage. The Wolfpack had two picks and five sacks and did all it could before allowing the late, winning touchdown pass — that after a fourth-down pass interference call against linebacker Drake Thomas with 18 seconds left in the game.
Vegas betting odds
Louisville opened as an early 4.5-point favorite over the Pack, according to some Vegas oddsmakers.
NC State at Louisville game and TV info
Who: N.C. State Wolfpack (7-3, 3-3 ACC) at Louisville Cardinals (6-4, 3-4)
When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, Ky.
TV: ACC Network
Steam: ESPN+
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 6:10 AM.
