Louisville Holds Off NC State in Home Finale

The Cardinals grit out a defensive victory against the Wolfpack in what was a battle of backup quarterbacks.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Playing in their final home game of the regular season, the Louisville football program was able to get back to their winning ways after falling last week at Clemson, using a gritty defensive performance to hold off NC State 25-10 victory Saturday at Cardinal Stadium.

The Cardinals (7-4, 4-4 ACC) held their visitors to just 291 yards of offense for the afternoon, which marked the Wolfpack's (7-4, 3-4 ACC) fifth-lowest offensive output for the season. This also came on top of just a 345-yard performance from Louisville, which was their third-lowest of the season.

A lot of this lack of production came from the fact that both teams had to resort to using their backup quarterbacks. Louisville starter Malik Cunningham was ruled out due to a shoulder injury, while NC State backup M.J. Morris could not play due to a lower body injury. Preseason ACC Player of the Year Devin Leary suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the season.

Instead, the Cardinals had to go with second stringer Brock Domann, while the Wolfpack - who were ranked No. 24 in the Coaches Poll - started with third stringer Jack Chambers before switching to fourth stringer Ben Finley.

Chambers went just 2-of-7 for 13 yards, while Finley was held to 16-of-35 for 201 yards, a touchdown and an interception on the final play of the game. NC State also rushed for just 77 yards, and the Louisville defense tallied five sacks, six tackles for loss, six pass breakups, six quarterback hurries and a pick by Quincy Riley.

Linebacker Yasir Abdullah led the way defensively for Louisville, logging seven tackles, three of which that came for a loss and 2.5 sacks. Cornerback Jarvis Brownlee finished with a game-high 11 tackles and four pass breakups, and linebacker Monty Montgomery had 10 tackles, a sack, 1.5 TFLs, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.

Over on offense, the Cardinals rushed for 192 yards, led by a 105-yard and one score effort from Jawhar Jordan, who also notched a touchdown on special teams. Domann went 12-of-25 for 153 yards, wide receiver Tyler Hudson caught six passes for 85 yards, and placekicker James Turner added four field goals.

As you can imagine in a matchup of dominant defenses and backup quarterbacks, both offenses had trouble moving the ball right out of the gates. Louisville and NC State each punted three times to start the game, and combined for just 100 yards of offense during this stretch.

The second quarter is when the offenses started to find a little more success. Taking advantage of great field position, it was Louisville who struck first, with James Turner connecting on a 26-yard field goal that was primarily set up by a 38-yard screen pass to Ford. The Wolfpack then immediately responded with a 13-play and 62-yard drive, one where they made a change at QB to Finley, connecting on a 30-yard field goal to tie the game with 4:46 left in the half.

Louisville wasted zero time snuffing out any momentum NC State had up to this point. Following the game-tying field goal, Jordan fielded a high kickoff that bounced to him, then proceeded to run all the way to the end zone for a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown.

The Cardinals defense forced NC State to punt on their next drive, allowing their offense to march down the field on an 11-play and 61-yard drive, and connect on a 22-yard field goal as time expired to go up 13-3 at halftime.

Following a shaky first half, NC State's offense started to get into a little bit of a rhythm in the third quarter. On their second drive of the period, Finley and Co. moved the ball at will, culminating with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Michael Allen and make it just a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter.

Once the fourth started, it was all Louisville form there. Their first three drives of the period all ended in points, with Turner adding 28- and 30-yard field goals and Jordan punching it into the end zone from two yards out. As for NC State, their first three fourth quarter drives all ended in turnovers on downs, as they generated just 50 combined yards during these drives.

Next up, Louisville will head back on the road for a showdown with in-state rival Kentucky in their regular season finale. Kickoff against the Wildcats is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 at 3:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Cyrus Fagan, Marshon Ford: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports

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