Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. NC State
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After seeing their four-game win streak snapped at Clemson, the Louisville football program will look to bounce back when they return to Cardinal Stadium this weekend, hosting NC State in what will be their final home game of the 2022 season.
Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into Saturday's game:
Injury and Availability Report
It wouldn't be a late season football game without injuries to critical positions, and this upcoming matchup is a perfect example of it.
Already sporting an injury to his left, non-throwing hand, Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham suffered an injury to his right shoulder in last weekend's loss at Clemson. Head coach Scott Satterfield would later go on to describe him as "day-to-day" ahead of their matchup with NC State.
There's also a development at running back for the Cardinals, as both Trevion Cooley and Jalen Mitchell were removed from this week's depth chart. Cooley has missed the last two games due to personal reasons, while Mitchell missed the Clemson game due to unspecified reasons.
Of course, NC State is also pretty banged up, and the Wolfpack suffered a lot of injuries in their game vs. Boston College, especially on offense. Starting center Grant Gibson, starting tight end Trent Pennix and co-starting running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye all went down against the Eagles, and their status against Louisville is unknown.
But the biggest potential injury update of all is at quarterback. The Wolfpack have already lost starter Devin Leary for the year, and have been riding with M.J. Morris since. While Morris finished the game against the Eagles and is listed as their starter for Louisville, there have been "strong rumors" that he could be out for this weekend.
Louisville Remaining Confident in Backup QB Brock Domann
While Louisville is facing a very likely scenario in which Cunningham won't be able play against NC State, they are still very confident in the capabilities of backup quarterback Brock Domann.
"He's played a lot over the last several games and gone out and made a lot of great plays for us," Satterfield said. "He's becoming more and more confident with the offense having gone through the spring, the summer, and then as he’s gone out and played some games. We have confidence in him, and I think the receivers do too."
Domann started the game at Virginia, helping lead Louisville to a 34-17 come-from-behind win that kickstarted their four-game win streak. He also played a solid half after Cunningham exited the game at Clemson.
For the year, Domann has completed 52.0 percent of his passes for 584 yards and two touchdowns to four interceptions. That might not be a stat line that jumps out to many, but it has been far from indicative of his on field play and the confidence it has given both his teammates and the coaching staff.
"Brock has done a great job when he's been called upon in games, whether he's come in the middle of the game or when he started the Virginia game," offensive coordinator Lance Taylor said. "We're able to keep the same game plan, same thoughts, same ideas. He's different than Malik, but he's still does a great job of running our offense and and everything that we ask him to do. Even as a runner."
Louisville Hoping to Send Senior Class Out on Top
With Louisville's matchup with NC State this weekend being their final home game of the season, it also serves as the last opportunity that their seniors will get to play at Cardinal Stadium. The coaching staff is hoping that they're able to send them out with a bang.
“It’s a good group," Satterfield said. "It’s kind of odd because I feel like there’s three different classes probably within this class. ... I got a special place in my heart for those guys because they’ve been through so much in the period of time that they’ve been here, as much as any class has probably ever been through anything. They’ve been through coaching changes, they’ve been through the COVID situation for two years, getting another year (of eligibility), just a lot of stuff that’s crazy, that has never happened really."
In total, Louisville will be honoring 19 seniors prior to kickoff of Saturday's game. Seven of them, as Satterfield mentioned, have been around since at least 2018, which was the final year under former head coach Bobby Petrino.
"First of all, I want to thank the Louisville community and fanbase for believing in me," linebacker Yasir Abdullah said, "I lot of coaches have been here, and this is really going to be emotional for me. Just starting as a freshman playing special teams, and just going through a whole bunch of coaching changes. It was just a lot, but I'm really thankful for for everything that Louisville has done for me."
Suffocating NC State Defense Anchored by Elite Linebacker Trio
NC State might have fallen short of their goal of reaching the ACC Championship, but it certainly wasn't due to the efforts of their defense. It's arguably the top defenses in the ACC and one of the best in FBS football, allowing only 321.2 yards and 18.1 points per game, which respectively ranks 19th and 13th nationally.
A lot of this is due to the play from linebackers Drake Thomas, Payton Wilson and Isaiah Moore, who might be the best linebacker trio in all of college football. Not only are they NC State's three leading tacklers, but they combine for 32.0 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 28 quarterback hurries (19 from Thomas alone) and 10 pass breakups. They're primarily the reason that the Wolfpack have the ninth-ranked rushing defense as 92.3 yards per game surrendered.
"[They're] probably the best linebacker combination in the country with their three linebackers," Satterfield said. "Extremely productive linebackers and they do everything from interceptions to sacks to tackles for loss. They’re running all over the field. Very impressed by their linebackers."
Fortunately for Louisville, they're coming off of a matchup with Clemson where they Faced an equally as dominant defense. Seeing first-hand how they performed against a unit that has talent all over the field, it allows them to see what they need to work on when they face an NC State defense that has equal talent.
"I think when you go against great competition, you're tested," offensive coordinator Lance Taylor said. "You see where you need to be better, and I think that's one of the things that the Clemson game showed us."
Wolfpack Offense Struggling to Get Going
With as good as the defense has been for NC State, their offense is what has held them back from a potential Atlantic Division berth. Even when preseason ACC Player of the Year quarterback Devin Leary was healthy, the Wolfpack had struggled to move the ball consistently.
Their 350.1 yards per game for the season ranks just 98th, while their 26.4 points per game is 81st. Their production in the four games after Leary went down for the year is even worse than that, as NC State has averaged 317.8 yards and 20.3 points since.
The Wolfpack originally went with Jack Chambers as their starting quarterback, but after a 24-9 loss at Syracuse and a 21-3 deficit against Virginia Tech, he was benched in favor of M.J. Morris. A true freshman, Morris led them to a 22-21 comeback against the Hokies, and then a 30-21 win over Wake Forest before falling 22-20 to Boston College this past weekend to snap their 16-game home winning streak.
"When you think about just true handoffs to the running back, it's still the same as it was with Leary," defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "Passing game, it's basically about the same. They want to keep it simple for (Morris), and not put a lot on the true freshman, but he's a really good quarterback that has a really strong arm. It's amazing some of the things he's done so far this season being a true freshman."
Morris has completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 648 yards and seven touchdowns to one interception, while Chambers has completed just 52.6 percent of his throws for 239 yards and a touchdown.
(Photo via Rob Kinnan - USA TODAY Sports)
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