By Gabriel Wiest —

With a 34-20 win against NC State, head coach Scott Satterfield secured bowl game eligibility his first season with Louisville.

After taking a harsh 52-27 loss against Miami, it was unclear if Louisville (6-4, 4-3) could bounce back against another ACC competitor. The away game against NC State added to the challenge. Louisville lost to NC State (4-6, 1-5) last year 52-10, putting pressure on Satterfield to change the tide.

Recap

After a dry first quarter, junior Dez Fitzpatrick caught a 43 yard pass from sophomore Micale Cunningham, putting the Cardinals on the scoreboard first. NC State answered Louisville with a touchdown and a field goal ending the first half in the lead 10-7.

The Cardinals surged in the third quarter against NC State, scoring three touchdowns. Sophomore Tutu Atwell started off the scoring in the second half with a 74 yard catch from Cunningham.

Freshman Marshon Ford continued the momentum with another long 42 yard pass from Cunningham. Graduate Ean Pfeifer ended off the quarter with another touchdown thrown by Cunningham leaving the score 27-10.

NC State answered the Cardinals after a dead third quarter with a touchdown in the beginning of the fourth. Ford then scored his second touchdown for the Cardinals. NC State had the final say, with a field goal, but not enough to put the Wolfpack in the lead.

Overview

Cunningham helped lead the Cardinals to victory throwing four touchdown passes. The offense also took a heavy passing approach against NC State, passing 249 yards while rushing 77 yards.

On the book Louisville had less total yards than NC State with 377-326. However, Louisville’s defense tightened down in the red zone, making sure that NC State could not take advantage of the defensive line as other teams have this season.

With a 2-10 season last year, it is clear that Satterfield is taking steps in the right direction with the Cardinals already at .500 ball. Before the season started some Louisville fans were skeptical how the Satterfield era would look. With bowl game eligibility, Satterfield has not only secured fans’s concerns, but put Louisville in a growing spotlight.

Louisville will face off next against Syracuse Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium. Students will be eligible for up to a 30% discount off of bowl game tickets from the athletics department and tickets will be on the Louisville sideline between the 40 yard lines.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal