Louisville Football vs. N.C. State: First-half grades for the Cardinals

Louisville football has come out playing great against the Wolfpack, therefore we take a look at the first half grades for the Cardinals.

It has been an exciting first half of football so far between the Louisville football team and the NC State Wolfpack. Lamar Jackson got the Cardinals out to a fast start, as he scored a 30-plus yard rushing touchdown on the team’s first drive. Too be honest, the Cards haven’t slowed down much since.

This was going to be an important game for both teams in the ACC standings since Louisville and NC State were neck and neck. However, after one half of football between the two schools. it seems very unlikely that these two teams are very close to each other in any aspect of the game.

With that being said, this is why you play all four quarters of the game of football. The teams that can make the best second half adjustments usually come out on top. However, even if the Wolfpack do that, I don’t think they will be able to get the victory today against the Cards.

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Lamar Jackson is playing well, the defense is playing well, and Louisville’s kicking game has been on point. Maybe I’m dreaming, but the Cards are playing great football today.

Here are the grades for the first half:

Oct 22, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball against North Carolina State Wolfpack linebacker Airius Moore (58) during the first quarter at Papa John

Louisville's Offense

There really isn’t anything more than I could have asked to see from the Louisville offense in the first half of football. Lamar Jackson has cleaned up his inaccuracy problems from last week and has the Cardinals in great position to bring home a win.

We talked before the game about the match-up between Louisville’s number one ranked ACC offense versus NC State’s number one rated rushing defense. The Cardinals have dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half, which is a huge reason why the Louisville and Lamar Jackson have been able to throw the ball downfield and move the ball on the ground.

Other than a few false-start penalties, the Cardinals have played a great game in the first half against the Wolfpack.

NC State has one of the worst passing defenses in the entire ACC and it’s being put on display in the first half. The Cardinals have dominated the line of scrimmage and have had the time to throw the football downfield. It’s very clear that they don’t have an answer for the Cards’ receivers in their secondary.

Oct 22, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals cornerback Trumaine Washington (15) intercepts a pass intended for North Carolina State Wolfpack running back Nyheim Hines (7) during the first quarter at Papa John

Louisville's Defense

Not only has Louisville dominated the line of scrimmage on offense, but they have on defense as well. The Wolfpack have not been able to get anything going in the first half and that doesn’t bold well when Lamar Jackson is playing on fire. Also, the three turnovers have been huge in getting the Cardinals’ offense back on the field.

Louisville needed a statement game today against NC State and they have rose to the occasion. Ryan Finley’s first pass of the day was picked off by Trumaine Washington and the Cardinals defense hasn’t looked back.

They have been tackling very well and not making mistakes in the secondary. It really makes one wonder how this offense went toe-to-toe with Clemson last week, but we all know it just comes down to the one-on-one match-ups throughout the games.

The Cards are playing great at home, let’s see if they can continue their defensive dominance in the second half.