by Jeff Gravely courtesy of GoPack.com
RALEIGH, N.C. – How will you respond after a painful 1-point loss at Miami? That was the question of the week from an individual and collective perspective for the NC State football team.
They responded with a win that included a 21-point outburst in the final quarter over visiting Louisville Saturday under the Carter-Finley Stadium lights.
The 28-13 win over the Cardinals, the eight straight home win, also got the Pack to bowl eligibility with the sixth win of the season.
Offensively, quarterback Devin Leary continued his impressive play with a season high 317 yards and four touchdowns. In the last six games, Leary has tossed 18 touchdowns with zero interceptions, a stretch of 211 straight passes without an INT.
“He’s just playing smart,” Dave Doeren said about his quarterback. “There’s times when he’s trying to be a little bit too perfect, but man, he’s gutsy. He stands in there and they’re blitzing, he’s taking hits and throwing good passes and taking care of the football.”
Four different receivers caught touchdown passes.
“It goes to show in this offense and me as the signal caller that I trust everyone out there,” Leary said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 1, 2, or 3, any guy that’s out there should expect the ball each and every play.”
The four touchdown producing receivers are among the tallest on the roster. Emeka Emezie, Trent Pennix, and Devin Carter are all 6’3. CJ Riley is 6’4. Part of the game plan was to utilize the bigger receivers against the smaller Louisville cornerbacks. All five of their corners are listed at 5’10.
Pennix had three catches for 55 yards and an 8-yard rush. All coming in the final quarter.
One the defensive side, every time there was a huddle on the sideline or on the bench, the guy wearing the number 1 was right in the middle of it. Isaiah Moore wore his jersey, but unfortunately, he was wearing a toboggan and not a helmet as a knee injury has ended his season. But Moore vowed to be there for his teammates and help anyway he could.
Drake Thomas played Moore’s linebacker position, the Mike, against Louisville. At the half Thomas had 11 tackles and finished with a career-high 15 stops. Two sacks and a PBU were part of Thomas’ impressive performance.
“Losing Isaiah is a huge loss,” Doeren explained. “To be able to put a guy like Drake in the middle is a nice luxury to have. To have a guy who hasn’t played that position all season, never actually since he’s been here, to step in and play like that says a ton about that young man.”
The Mike linebacker is one of the most critical spots on the defense, with verbal as well as physical responsibilities.
“I took full responsibility,” Thomas said. “I felt like how the defense performed tonight was on me at the end of today. I have to step up into that position and fill the shoes. I tried my best tonight and I’m going to keep on going and doing it.”
Defensive linemen Savion Jackson and Daniel Joseph set career-highs with seven and six tackles respectfully. Linebacker Levi Jones tied his career-high with seven stops in his first start of the season, and Tanner Ingle tallied 10 tackles.
Those kind of individual efforts are needed to help fill the void left by Isaiah Moore, who Doeren has called the heartbeat of the team.
At the post-game press conference, Thomas wore a black t-shirt with a photo of Moore on the front.
“Everything I do on the field is for him,” Thomas said of Moore. “I can’t take anything for granted. I know the love he has for this game and with the passion he plays with every day, I’d be doing him a disservice if I did anything else.”
A perfect reply on a night filled with responses.
