Louisville football: 3 things to watch vs. North Carolina State
Correlation between turning the ball over and losing games
Turnovers were another thing that really hurt Louisville this past Saturday against Miami. Giving the ball away three times to Miami’s zero effectively ended Louisville’s chances of staying in this ballgame, despite winning on the stat sheet in other areas.
Louisville has given the ball away 15 times this year, which is 87th in the turnovers lost category. That’s not great, it’s not even good, but NC State isn’t much better. They’ve turned the ball over 13 times this season, which has really amped itself up over the last few weeks. NC State has turned the ball over eight times in three games during this three-game losing streak.
The Cardinals have forced 12 turnovers this season, which doesn’t even put them in the top 50. But the Wolfpack have only forced five. So the Cardinals, even after a rough week, have a major advantage here. NC State is also going to be missing a key factor in forcing those five turnovers:
Relevant for Louisville this weekend. NC State defensive end with 4 sacks, 4.5 TFLs and 2 forced fumbles is in the transfer portal. https://t.co/obMg6WpmBu
— Cameron Teague (@cj_teague) November 12, 2019
Sometimes turnovers are flat out mistakes made by the offense. But sometimes they happen because there are playmakers everywhere within a defense that can make spectacular plays, NC State just doesn’t have that.
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When you look at this game as a whole, Louisville absolutely has the advantage in just about every single category. Louisville now has three more opportunities to earn bowl eligibility, this is a great time to go get it done.