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Jackson Vick swung his right arm toward Louisville’s Tre Richardson, who grabbed the football just past the N.C. State 35-yard line, rotating his back toward the Wolfpack sideline.
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Vick barely made contact and flew past the receiver, unable to wrap both arms around his opponent’s body for the tackle.
Richardson, now free of Vick’s defensive attempt, ran the ball into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown.
The veteran nickelback missed a game-high four tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Edge Harvey Dyson and safety Ronnie Royal missed two and three tackles, respectively. These are three of the defense’s leaders and most-experienced players.
“Tackling’s frustrating because we’ve tackled well this year,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said on Monday. “That game we missed 23 tackles, and that’s more than we’ve missed in four games combined prior to. I don’t know what led to it, because we had a really good week of practice on defense and offense, but we’ll get that fixed.”
PFF reports the Wolfpack missed 19 total tackles. It also reports seven missed tackles in three games and 11 misses against Vanderbilt. The football analytics site assigned the Wolfpack a tackling grade of 30.3 — nearly 25 points lower than its grade against the Commodores.
Tackling, or a lack of it, was clearly a problem, regardless of how the misses are being calculated or by whom.
“(We) missed way too many tackles, and those led to a lot of explosive plays that let Louisville get back in the football game and tie us up,” Doeren said. “Some of it’s the talent that they have. Some of it’s the fundamentals that we didn’t play with. We have to do a better job coaching those kids and then practicing those things with more intense spirit as they chase the football against a scout team; seven on seven whatever we’re doing, but just playing with better technique as tacklers in space.”
Louisville gained 485 yards in the visit to Raleigh. Of those, 374 yards came on 14 big plays. These are defined by rushing plays of at least 10 yards and passing plays of at least 15 yards.
Ten of the Cardinals’ plays gained at least 20 yards, including a 49-yard rush and a 70-yard touchdown run, to rack up 325 yards. Moral of the story: 67% of Louisville’s yards came on these calls.
The Wolfpack defense’s ability to respond comes this weekend, when it faces Wake Forest.
Doeren spoke highly of the Demon Deacons, especially quarterback Gio Lopez and receiver Carlos Hernandez.
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N.C. State faced Lopez a year ago during his lone season with North Carolina. The QB threw for 118 yards, one touchdown and was sacked three times in the rivalry game last November. He finished with -8 rushing yards, as well.
Lopez looks “completely different” this year,” Doeren said, also calling him gifted and strong.
The junior has already thrown for 1,377 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. He’s racked up 192 rushing yards and five scores on the ground. The Pack didn’t see that versatility when he played for UNC. Now at Wake, he’s been reunited with his offensive coordinator from South Alabama.
Lopez fits the system again, and he has a strong relationship with his coach; both understanding how to most effectively work together.
“You can totally see a different guy in there,” Doeren said. “His confidence, the way he runs the show; you can just see that he’s got a lot of reps in this system, and he’s playing good.”
Lopez’s numbers also look good because Hernandez helps him out. The receiver has 603 yards, averaging 16.3 yards per catch, and three touchdowns. He leads the nation in yards after the catch (9.9), according to PFF.
Doeren said it’s critical to have a better performance this weekend.
“They find ways to get him the football. They move him all over the place and motion him. He’s not going to be in one spot,” Doeren said. “We’ve got to know where he is, and then we’ve got to do a great job fundamentally in our tackling technique and finishing tackles and running to the football.”
Doeren did not address player injuries, which is not uncommon, but the list of unavailable players continues to grow.
“I’m not going to comment on injuries until I have to,” Doeren said.
Running back Duke Scott, wide receiver Jojo Trader, offensive lineman Yousef Mugharbil and safety Tristan Teasdell all left the Louisville game with undisclosed injuries.
Offensive linemen Jimarion McCrimon and Spike Sowells did not play, shifting the entire line. Daniel Cruz made his first start at center, while Teague Andersen returned to right tackle. He previously played center in Sowells’ absence.
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