Holliday: Pack survives UVA but much tougher test ahead
Posted September 26, 2023 9:28 a.m. EDT
For NC State, winning in regulation at Charlottesville required a staggering number of Virginia blunders. The Cavaliers’ on field misdeeds started after Anthony Colandrea passed for a pivotal touchdown, hitting Malik Washington from three yards out. Here’s what unfolded.
Officials saw center Ty Furnish head butt a Wolfpack player and threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. With the score 21-19, this meant UVA would have to attempt the tying two point conversion from the 18 yard line instead of the 3.
Remarkably, Malachi Fields went up and caught Colandrea’s prayer of a pass. Game tied!
Alas, Colandrea took his helmet off in celebration, which brought another flag. That meant the ensuing kickoff would take place from the Virginia 20 with 36 seconds remaining.
All night long the Cavs attempted short pooch kicks to keep the ball out of the hands of kick return specialist Julian Gray. But a pooch kick from the 20 would put the Wolfpack close to field goal range. The Cavs had to kick it deep. And hope.
But of course Gray, the ACC’s kick return leader, caught the longer kick in stride and raced 33 yards into Virginia territory. Five plays later, Brayden Narveson lined up for a 48 yard field goal.
UVA’s James Jackson blocked it! But, there was a flag on the play.
It seems Jackson climbed the back of a teammate, which is against the rules. Narveson was granted a re-kick 15 yards closer to the goal post. This time, he nailed it.
For the game, Virginia committed 7 penalties for 69 yards. 45 of those yards were assessed in the closing seconds.
One cannot ignore the tragic backdrop in Charlottesville. Three players were shot and killed last November. A fourth, Mike Hollins, recovered from his wounds and remarkably, played against NC State. Head Coach Tony Elliott is attempting to rebuild the Virginia program in the aftermath of this unspeakable tragedy. His team has been competitive every single week.
But UVA has not tasted success since beating Georgia Tech in Atlanta last October. The Cavaliers have not won in Scott Stadium since last September 17 against Old Dominion. It would have meant so much for UVA to capture a conference W at home last Friday. Understandably, player emotions are on edge, wanting so badly to win in the presence of the entire Charlottesville community, and then move on.
While NC State surely benefited from Virginia’s emotional outbursts late in the game, there are elements to like in the Wolfpack’s performance.
Offensively, K.C. Concepcion caught 6 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns. His 48 yard scoring catch as the rain began to fall in the second half gave his team a 21-13 lead after Virginia had cut the margin to one point.
Armstrong, himself feeling emotion playing in an environment where he spent four seasons-and he was there last November-missed some throws to be sure. But he completed 15-30 for 180 yards. Armstrong also ran effectively, helping jumpstart the Pack’s improving ground game.
Running backs Michael Allen, Delbert Mimms, and Kendrick Raphael combined for 75 yards, including some tough territory between the tackles.
But while State achieved a measure of balance – 180 yards passing and 139 rushing – the offense played inconsistently. Armstrong threw an interception at the Virginia 12 yard line, killing a scoring opportunity; this was before it started raining. As conditions deteriorated in the second half, State’s defense twice came up with interceptions, potentially game changing plays. Yet as Armstrong himself noted after the game, the offense could not capitalize on either one.
Defensively NC State is testing its depth in the secondary. With Jakeen Harris already lost for the season, safety Devan Boykin suffered an injury during the first series and did not return. His replacement, Cecil Powell, also got hurt. So State is shorthanded.
As to the issue with big plays, in truth Tony Gibson’s unit has been giving up chunk yardage at times all the way back to the opener against Connecticut, before this group began losing personnel. The trend certainly continued against Virginia.
The Wolfpack defense allowed a 16 yard run, and passes of 28, 29, 42, and 59 yards. The 59 yard play came out of an empty backfield on a screen pass to Malik Washington; so State’s secondary can’t be blamed for all of Virginia’s 271 yards through the air.
On the plus side newcomer Sean Brown and All ACC cornerback Aydan White both made interceptions. Also, the front six led by Payton Williams and Cayden Fordham produced seven tackles for loss and two sacks. So the defense, like the offense, performed well enough to win but was plagued by inconsistent play.
Unbeaten Louisville is next for NC State
The Brohm brothers have rejuvenated Louisville’s offense. Head Coach Jeff Brohm and Offensive Coordinator Brian Brohm both played quarterback at the U of L. They’re bringing out the best in current Cardinal QB Jack Plummer, one of this week’s ACC Players of the Week.
Plummer is a veteran, playing in his sixth season; playing for his third school. His experience shows.
Against Boston College Plummer hit on 18-21 throws for 388 yards and 5 touchdowns. Part of his success comes from spreading the ball around. Why not? He has good receivers of course.
Jamari Thrash ranks second in the ACC with 19 catches for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns. Against BC, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce caught 3 passes for a whopping 110 yards. Chris Bell caught just one pass but it went for 48! Shifty Maurice Turner got 3-36 and Kevin Coleman 2-30.
Overall, Plummer connected on passes of 32, 42, 48, 55, and 75 yards. Note, the 75 yard pass did not go to a wide receiver. That throw found running back Jawhar Jordan, who just may be the most dangerous player in a Louisville offense, that quite frankly is full of dangerous players.
Without question, Jawhar Jordan will be the most dynamic back NC State has seen. In addition to his long touchdown catch, Jordan averaged 7.4 yards per carry on the ground, as he amassed 134 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries. Jordan broke off runs of 42 and 33 yards and now will face a team that has given up entirely too many of those type plays.
In short, with NC State plagued repeatedly by giving up chunk yardage, this is exactly the team NC State does not want to see right now. Louisville leads the ACC in total offense (542 ypg), pass offense (305 ypg), and rushing offense (237 ypg).
The good news for NC State is that Louisville ranks just 9th in the ACC in total defense, allowing 360 yards per game. The Cards are particularly vulnerable to the pass. Teams throw for 245 yards each outing against U of L, and that ranks 13th out of 14 teams. Brennan Armstrong can you take advantage of this?
Also, the Cardinals rank 9th in interceptions and 12th in sacks. Nothing too intimidating there. On the other hand, this defense is good in the red zone and allows just 19 points per game. The Louisville offense averages 43.
To have a chance Friday night – and it is a Friday night game at the Carter this week – NC State must contain Jordan, the ACC’s leading rusher. NC State has one of the better pass rushes in the league; can the Pack put pressure on Plummer? He’s been sacked five times thus far.
Plummer will complete passes. He’s so accurate and has so many receiving weapons. But NC State must minimize yards after the catch, and not allow a 12 yard throw to become a 35 yard pass play.
Above all, the Wolfpack needs more from its offense. At Virginia we saw glimpses of what Armstrong, Concepcion, and the running backs can do in Robert Anae’s schemes.
And let’s note, Armstrong’s first five completions went to five different receivers. Still, NC State’s ranks 13th in ACC pass offense.
Guys like Porter Rooks, Julian Gray and Keyon Lesane need to get more separation from defenders. Armstrong must be more accurate throwing than he was at UVA.
Louisville could easily score 30 points even if the Wolfpack defense has a good night. The Pack’s offense must step it up if it’s to keep up with the Cardinals.
