From the Field: A Monumental Play

Saturday, October 3

Raleigh, NC

3:30 p.m.

NC State

3-2 , 1-1

Louisville

2-3 , 1-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Louisville	0	7	14	7	28
NC State	3	10	15	3	31

Game Book

The Pack celebrates one of three Louisville turnovers.

The Wolfpack defense celebrates one of three Louisville turnovers.

10/4/2026 1:56:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Jeff Gravley

There was one play that represented the strain and effort it took for the Wolfpack to take down Louisville.

It came in the fourth quarter with the score knotted at 28. Cardinal back Keyjaun Brown broke through the line of scrimmage and was on his way to a 68-yard explosive touchdown.

But Pack linebacker Harvey Dyson III wasn't going to let that happen. From behind the line of scrimmage, where he had rushed the quarterback, Dyson went into a full sprint, ran down Brown and violently stripped the ball away at the 13-yard line, where it was smothered by Popo Aguirre—his third fumble recovery of the game.

The Pack offense took the gift and drove down into Kanoah Vinesett territory. His 28-yard field goal put the final points on the scoreboard: 31-28, NC State.

The defensive play by Dyson was as much want-to and will as it was skill.

"I was just trying to give effort," Dyson said of the play. "You can't expect nobody else to make the play We preach run to the ball every single play. I was just trying to give my all-out effort and make a play on the football."

The play drew rave reviews from Coach Dave Doeren and Dyson's teammates.

"I thought Harvey Dyson's play, the pursuit forced fumble, was one of the best plays I've seen as a coach in my career," Doeren said.

"Harvey's a dog," said linebacker Popo Aguirre. "I remember running up to him and telling him, 'I knew this was going to happen.' I lost my breath trying to celebrate with him. So, yeah, it was great."

"That chase-down fumble, that's just grit," quarterback CJ Bailey added. "That's just wanting to do it. He went for the chase-down, got the fumble, then on the next drive got the sack."

About that sack. It was third-and-9, and it would be the final offensive play Louisville would run. It was a perfectly executed twist stunt that freed up Harvey for the Pack's third sack of the game.

Louisville entered the game plus-6 in the turnover margin, with zero fumbles and one interception. The Pack forced five fumbles, recovered three, and scored 17 points off the turnovers. Images of how Louisville carried the ball were shown all week to Pack defenders.

"We saw a lot of clips where the ball was in jeopardy with them," Doeren said.

Louisville's defense entered the game giving up 405 yards per game. They crowded the box to slow the run game, which opened up an opportunity for Bailey to go to work through the air.

"You could tell they were struggling in the secondary coming into our game," Doeren explained. "They'd given up a lot of explosives, and so we knew when we got in there and saw they were packing the box that we were gonna have to really throw it around."

For just the third time in his career, Bailey unleashed 40 passes. He completed 24 of them for a career-high 373 yards. Keenan Jackson and Tyran Warren were the recipients of his touchdowns.

After the game, Bailey brought the game ball to the press conference. It was a prized possession and a reminder.

"This ball right here shows that we're that team. We're going to keep building and stacking days," Bailey said.