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Euan McCreath - After beginning their campaign with a loss to South Carolina the N.C. State WoIfpack have rattled off four straight wins heading into last night’s prime time matchup with the Louisville Cardinals. The streak, which included a victory at Florida State provided the now #24 ranked N.C. State Wolfpack with some momentum heading into an ACC clash with Louisville. The Pack have an experienced quarterback in Ryan Finley and he’s played like one. Finley has been money, tossing nine touchdowns and has yet to thrown an interception while being sacked only seven times. Finley leads an offense that averages over 460 yards per game. He has a bona fide pIay maker in JayIen SamueIs. It doesn’t matter if he’s rushing or receiving Samuels is a weapon. He’s accounted for eight touchdowns so far this season and is collectively averaging over six yards per touch. The Wolfpack have really been taking care of the football having only committed two turnovers this season. Defensively N.C. State returns eight senior starters this season and the experience is paying off especially rushing the passer. State is third in the ACC with 13 sacks and are led by the dynamic powerful defensive end Bradley Chubb.
The Cardinals came into their game after a blowout against Kent State and Murray State but more notably getting blown out by Clemson a three weeks ago in a game in which they got dominated and seemed overwhelmed. Louisville has won four out of the last five meetings including last year’s beat down 54-13 at home. Despite being on the road LouisviIIe entered the game as a smaII favorite behind defending Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Lamar Jackson and head coach Bobby Petrino. With both teams having explosive offenses and quarterbacks with big arms it was the defense who held strong in the opening quarter that saw no scoring. In the second quarter N.C. State would get open up the scoring. On a fourth and one from midfield the Wolfpack converted on a Ryan Finley quarterback sneak. On the ensuing play it was Finley hooking up on a 48-yard bomb to Kelvin Harmon that gave the Pack a 7-0 lead with just under 12 minutes to go in the second quarter. Lamar Jackson however would answer and look good doing it. The Cardinals were on the Wolfpack 23-yard line when Jackson went back to pass and threw a beautiful high arching pass down the sideline into the awaiting arms of wide receiver Seth Dawkins who juggled the ball at first and eventually securing it in the end zone for a touchdown, silencing the once frenzied crowd in Raleigh. The silence was short lived however when Finley answered hitting his big play wide receiver Jaylen Samuels who turned a short pass over the middle into a track meet eventually being tackled inside the ten-yard line after a 79-yard gain. The Wolfpack however were unable to capitalize on the big play as the Louisville defense stiffened but did manage a 21-yard field goal that increased the Wolfpack lead to 10-7. Later in the quarter the Cardinals would strike again this time from the ground thanks to a Nyheim Hines 11-yard touchdown run. The Cardinals came back and kicked a field goal sending the teams into the locker room at halftime with the Wolfpack leading 17-10. Hines would strike again after a Louisville field goal this time scampering in from seven yards out pushing the Wolfpack lead to 24-13. The Wolfpack accumulated 473 yards of offense through three quarters in taking their double-digit lead into the fourth quarter. Jackson, resilient and poised would lead the Cardinals down the field and capped a nine play 62-yard drive with a four yard run. The subsequent two-point conversion was no good as the Wolfpack maintained a five-point lead 24-19. Each team then exchanged touchdowns and with just over three minutes to go the Cardinals got the ball on their own 11 trailing 32-25. It was then that the Wolfpack defense would seal the game on a pick six thanks to a tipped ball that was returned by Germaine Pratt 25-yards to pay dirt. The play gave the Pack a 39-25 victory. “He does a nice job rushing the passer and in run defense”, commented Cardinal head coach Bobby Petrino when talking about superstar defensive lineman Bradley Chubb. “He plays with great effort.” That effort was on full display Thursday night as Chubb penetrated the Cardinal backfield quite often. He was a force recording six tackles, two of them for a loss, a sack and even blocked an extra point. The Cardinals defensive line sacked Jackson four times and even when they couldn’t sack him they made him uncomfortable. Jaylen Samuels caught seven passes for 104 yards as well. But the story of the night was how well Ryan Finley played. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 367 yards and a touchdown. When Finley wasn’t throwing it he was handing the ball off to Nyheim Hines who rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on just 19 carries. The playmakers did just that for the Wolfpack who will most certainly move way up in the polls after this impressive home victory. Lamar Jackson his counterpart accounted for over 400 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. Next Saturday the now 5-1 Wolfpack head to Pittsburg to take on Pitt while the 4-2 Cardinals look to bounce back as they host Boston College.
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November 2018
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