NC State’s defense has long been one of Dave Doeren’s calling cards, but this fall hasn’t opened the way the Wolfpack wanted on that side of the ball. Virginia moved the chains almost at will before easing up in the third quarter, Vanderbilt found its footing in the second half a couple of weeks ago, and Appalachian State did the same this past weekend. With Louisville bringing an explosive offense into town, NC State is going to need a complete four-quarter effort.
Up front, the Wolfpack are working with a defense that was basically rebuilt from scratch. The defensive line returned no starters from last season, and there weren’t many established contributors back either.
Isiah Shirley is the face of that group from his defensive tackle spot, while 6-3, 335-pound Katron Evans anchors the nose next to the 294-pound Shirley. The size is there, but this unit has had a hard time creating negative plays, which has usually been a staple of Doeren’s teams.
The bright spot has been at linebacker, though even that comes with an asterisk. NC State has been so thin there that it has largely been playing with one linebacker this season, and Popo Aguirre has taken full advantage of the opportunity.
The Miami transfer has gone from rotation player with the Hurricanes to the top defender in the middle for the Wolfpack. Against Virginia, he piled up 18 tackles as the Cavaliers kept feeding the run game.
He is also among the national leaders in “stops,” a PFF metric that tracks tackles with real impact on the offense, and that downhill style is exactly the kind of player Louisville has struggled to deal with this year.
Behind him, NC State mixes and matches in the secondary. Brian Nelson and Jeren Sensabaugh handle the corner spots, and while neither has made a ton of splash plays, Sensabaugh does have one of the season’s more impressive highlight interceptions. Jackson Vick is back at nickel, and even without piling up numbers, that group knows the scheme and has been steady in coverage.
At safety, Ronnie Royal has been one of the more flexible pieces on the defense. He has lined up deep, but he has also stepped down into an extra hybrid linebacker role when needed.
That versatility matters in a system that leans on man coverage with one safety deep. King Mack and Tristan Teasdell are also part of the rotation at safety and nickel, and both can slide into the box as well.
Mack, in particular, was a strong portal addition after contributing at Penn State last season.
In Other News...
Louisvilles Must-Win NC State Trip Suddenly Comes Down To Kienholz
Louisville heads into its Week 5 trip to North Carolina State with the kind of injury report that can reshape a season in a hurry. The Cardinals already have multiple players either ruled out or listed as questionable, but the biggest concern is at quarterback, where Lincoln Kienholz is the name everyone will be watching before kickoff. In a game that already carries must-win weight, his status looms over everything Louisville wants to do on offense.
The challenge is obvious if Kienholz cannot go. Louisville would have to turn to depth that has barely been tested in live action, making the margin for error against NC State even thinner. For a team trying to stay afloat in a game it badly needs, the quarterback situation is no longer just a subplot. It is the whole story, and it may come down to whether Louisville can get enough stability under center to survive the trip. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Faces A Harsh Reality Check On Jeff Brohms Rebuild
The early returns on Jeff Brohms rebuild have been more sobering than Louisville hoped, especially on a defense that was supposed to show more bite. The Cards have struggled to get consistent pressure off the edge, the offensive line has not taken the expected step forward, and recent losses have made it harder to ignore how many of the same issues keep resurfacing from one week to the next.
Coverage breakdowns and penalties have only deepened the problem, leaving Louisville with too many self-inflicted wounds to overcome. Brohm has already acknowledged the issues, but the longer they linger, the more the season starts to look like a test of whether this roster can find answers before the schedule and the frustration pile up any further. [Read more 🡒]