A Dreary Day and a Dreadful Result for Louisville in Raleigh; Falling 31-28 to NC State

Louisville comes up just short, yet again. A third loss by three points for the Cards leaves them searching for answers with over half the season still left.

Louisville takes the field in Raleigh | Daniel Rankin

A dreary Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina with steady rain hovering around Carter Finley Stadium turned into a dreadful result for the Louisville football team.  After trailing by 14 in the second half, Louisville tied it up early in the fourth quarter, before a Kanoah Vinesett field goal with 5:30 left proved to be enough for the Wolfpack to hold on to a 31-28 win.

The Cards drop to 2-3 on the 2026 season, with all three losses coming in gut wrenching fashion by three points. 

Ole Miss 41-38.  Wake Forest 30-27.  NC State 31-28.

Coach Jeff Brohm on the loss:

"Yeah, well, every loss is disappointing. This one is definitely disappointing again. I do think we fought hard to come back to give ourselves a chance and today was a turnover fest with the ball on the ground too much. I know it's raining in the first half, it's wet and all that, but we've worked that all week. Turnovers were costly to us on offense. We weren't able to sustain drives, get the ball in the end zone, and we started slow. Our defense, it's not up to par for sure, way too many big plays and not aggressive enough in our approach. A lot of things to fix."

Lawayne McCoy finds the end zone in the first half on a 33-yard strike from Lincoln Kienholz | Daniel Rankin

A season that had so much promise with playmakers all over the field and a coaching staff declaring the program was ready to take the next step now reaches a crossroads.

With a short week leading up to a Friday night showdown with Florida State, the Cards must pick themselves up and find a way to play for pride the rest of the way.  The Seminoles (3-2) will be coming into L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium riding a high following a 38-7 dismantling of Virginia on Saturday afternoon.    

Coming into Saturday, penalties and miscues in the secondary were two of Louisville’s biggest weaknesses. 

Louisville was 135th in the FBS committing an average of 93 penalty yards per game leading into Saturday.  Though they cleaned it up and only committed three penalties that cost them 40 yards, ball security became the bigger issue. 

After only committing one turnover through the first four games of the season, the rainy day affected Louisville’s ability to protect the ball.  The Cards fumbled the ball five times, with the Wolfpack recovering three of them. Keyjuan Brown lost two fumbles near the redzone, where the offense converted just one of three trips for points.  NC State was 4-for-6. 

Louisville was 0-1 on fourth down, with quarterback Lincoln Kienholz being met for no gain in NC State territory in the second quarter. 

The secondary struggled again giving up 373 passing yards to NC State quarterback CJ Bailey.  Bailey was 24-40 connecting on two touchdowns through the air, while also rushing the ball seven times for 31 yards.  The pack had NC State converted five of their first six third down attempts, finishing the game 9-for-17. 

Injuries and court rulings have depleted the defensive side of the ball over the last few weeks.  Antonio Watts was lost for the season due to injury a few weeks back.  Captain Koen Entringer has been out the last two games and Kalib Perry and Jabari Mack were ruled ineligible Friday night in the “Five-for-Five” court case going on nationwide.

Even with a depleted roster, others must rise up the rest of the way.  Louisville came into the game 116th in the FBS, giving up 405.5 yards per game.  On Saturday, the Wolfpack offense exploded for 493 yards.  The Pack dominated time of possession with 37:20 minutes to Louisville’s 22:40. The Cards struggled to get off the field.  Kaleb Beasley produced Louisville’s lone forced turnover of the game, a huge fourth quarter interception in the end zone. 

Lincoln Kienholz in warms up on Saturday afternoon vs NC State. | Daniel Rankin

Throughout the week there was speculation about Kienholz and whether he would be available or not.  The junior quarterback fought through pain and agony and had the Cards in the game throughout.  He finished 21-for-30 with 254 passing yards and two touchdowns.  On the ground, with his injured leg, he still found a way to gain 45 yards on seven carries.

The running backs looked like themselves on the ground, but ball security killed them.  Isaac Brown had nine rushes for 127 yards and a touchdown, averaging 13.9 yards per carry.  Keyjuan Brown had eight carries for 89 yards and a score, averaging 11 yards per carry. 

Lawayne McCoy was another Card listed as questionable throughout the week on the injury report.   He played as well, pulling in two receptions for 41 yards.  Tre Richardson had his best day as a Cardinal, hauling in eight receptions for 117 yards and a 38-yard touchdown where he weaved across the field through the NC State defense in the third quarter. 

Tre Richardson scampers into the end zone in the third quarter after weaving through Wolfpack defenders. | Daniel Rankin

Treyshun Hurry also had four receptions for 37 yards.   TJ Capers led the Cardinal defense with 12 tackles; Kaleb Beasley had nine tackles to go along with his interception and Clev Lubin added seven tackles and a sack. 

How It Happened

First Quarter

07:34 – NCS – Kanoah Vinesett knocks in a 46-yard field goal. 12 plays, 52 yards, 04:52. Louisville 0, NC State 3.

Second Quarter

14:20 – NCS – CJ Bailey connects with Keenan Jackson for a 19-yard touchdown. 14 plays, 79 yards, 06:10. Louisville 0, NC State 10.

05:51 – LOU – Lincoln Kienholz finds Lawayne McCoy for a 33-yard touchdown. 3 plays, 49 yards, 01:21. Louisville 7, NC State 10.

01:42 – NCS – Kanoah Vinesett kicks a 29-yard field goal. 9 plays, 63 yards, 04:09. Louisville 7, NC State 13.

Third Quarter

11:03 – NCS – Tyran Warren catches a 34-yard touchdown pass from CJ Bailey. 9 plays, 75 yards, 03:57. Louisville 7, NC State 20. 

08:05 – LOU – Tre Richardson hauls in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Lincoln Kienholz. 6 plays, 80 yards, 02:51. Louisville 14, NC State 20.

03:50 – NCS – Will Wilson rushes up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown. Two-point conversion successful. 5 plays, 41 yards, 02:11. Louisville 14, NC State 28. 

00:20 – LOU – Keyjuan Brown punches it in for a 1-yard touchdown. 9 plays, 77 yards, 03:24. Louisville 21, NC State 28.

Fourth Quarter

12:27 – LOU – Isaac Brown breaks away for a 70-yard touchdown. 2 plays, 80 yards, 00:34. Louisville 28, NC State 28.

05:30 – NCS – Kanoah Vinesett knocks in a 28-yard field goal. 10 plays, 76 yards, 04:09. Louisville 28, NC State 31. 

As forementioned, the Cards return to action Friday night at 7 pm against the Florida State Seminoles in a game that will be televised on ESPN.