Wolfpack offense sputters in road loss to Louisville
Posted November 19, 2022 5:05 p.m. EST
Updated November 19, 2022 10:10 p.m. EST
Louisville running back Jawhar Jordan found room against NC State’s defense and against NC State’s special teams.
NC State couldn’t find any room against Louisville.
A pair of touchdowns from Jordan carried the Cardinals to a 25-10 home win over the injury-depleted Wolfpack on Saturday.
In a battle of reserve quarterbacks, and between two of the best defenses in the ACC, Jordan was the difference. He returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and ran for 105 yards and a touchdown.
No. 24 NC State, which is down to its fourth-string quarterback, falls to 7-4 on the disappointing season. Louisville improved to 7-4.
Freshman quarterback M.J. Morris missed the game with a knee injury. He was joined on the sidelines by linebacker Payton Wilson and center Grant Gibson among other injured notables.
Not to be outdone, Louisville was missing star quarterback Malik Cunningham and a handful of running backs, which opened the door for Jordan to shine.
Chris Dunn made a 30-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 at 4:46 in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jordan initially let the ball bounce past him and then decided to pick it up at the 2-yard line. He was able to weave around the NC State coverage team for the lone touchdown of the half.
The Cards were able to add a late 22-yard field goal by James Turner, his second field goal of the half, to make it 13-3 at the break.
Grad transfer Jack Chambers started for the Wolfpack but was benched early in the second quarter for Ben Finley, a third-year freshman. Neither quarterback has been able to find much room against Louisville’s defense. The Wolfpack has 96 yards of total offense in the first half.
Chambers started the second half before giving way to Finley for good. Chambers finished 2 of 6 for 13 yards. Finley completed 13 of 30 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown.
Down 13-3, Finley found running back Michael Allen on an out route for a 34-yard touchdown at 7:46 in the third quarter to cut Louisville’s advantage to 13-10.
But the Cards answered with a 30-yard field goal by kicker James Turner, a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Jordan and a 28-yard field goal by Turner in the fourth quarter.
