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RALEIGH -- The stricken look on Andre Brown's face said it all. The words he then spoke merely confirmed it.

"Turnovers killed us," the junior running back said.

On Saturday, N.C. State's five turnovers killed the Wolfpack's chance of pulling off an upset against Louisville (3-2) and turned what could have been a very close game into a 29-10 win for the Cardinals.

"It's a pretty discouraging loss for our football team," said State coach Tom O'Brien.

Adding to the discouragement for the Wolfpack (1-4) was when those turnovers occurred and the massive effect they had on the game.

The first, an interception thrown by Harrison Beck, could have been a touchdown to Owen Spencer had the throw been on the mark. Instead, the throw zipped over Spencer's head and into the arms of a Louisville defensive back in the end zone.

"He's throwing it to the right guy," O'Brien said. "He's open. All we've got to do is throw the ball in and we've probably got a touchdown."

Trailing 13-0 in the second quarter, State bounced back when Brown ripped through a hole on the right side for a 44-yard gain down to the Louisville 28. On the very next play, though, he fumbled.

"The fumbles are tough to deal with," O'Brien said. "There's no excuse for fumbling the football."

That message clearly needs at least another week to sink in for the Wolfpack. On State's second drive of the second half, it marched the ball all the way down to the Louisville 7. After a penalty pushed the Wolfpack back 5 yards, Beck held on to the ball too long, was sacked and fumbled the ball away.

At that point, State trailed 16-3, but so much of the damage was self-inflicted. Three of its four turnovers came inside the Louisville 30 yard-line, where points appeared imminent for the Wolfpack. The fourth was quickly turned into a field goal by the Cardinals.

That's why, when State finally did punch the ball in the end zone, the crowd at Carter-Finley and the players on the Wolfpack sideline were feeling optimistic. The score was 16-10 and even though Beck had left the game with a shoulder injury (X-rays on his collar bone were negative), his backup, Daniel Evans, looked capable of moving State.

The Wolfpack defense, meanwhile, was giving up yards to the Cardinals but was keeping the damage to a minimum on the scoreboard and was making Louisville's Heisman-candidate quarterback, Brian Brohm, look pretty ordinary.

"We liked the position we were in," O'Brien said.

Assuming, of course, State could stop dealing itself self-inflicted wounds.

That turned out to be an assumption that was just too big.

After the Cardinals got their offense on track in the second half with a touchdown to go up 22-10, the Wolfpack marched the ball right back into Louisville territory -- where Brown promptly fumbled the ball away again. The Cardinals moved swiftly down the field on a State defense that was now worn out and put the game away with another score.

"I'm hurting right now," Brown said. "I feel like I let my team down."

To be fair to Brown, he wasn't the only one making critical mistakes. There were Beck's three turnovers, a few untimely penalties, several dropped passes, an offensive line that too often failed to get a significant push and a defense that still gave up 498 yards.

Still, after getting absolutely mauled by Clemson the week before, State could at least take solace that it was competitive with the Cardinals.

"The team does have pride," O'Brien said. "We saw that today."

And if State could have eliminated just a few of its costly turnovers, it might have even had a victory to go along with that pride.

Granted, that's a very, very big if. But when you're 1-4, that's what passes for optimism at State these days.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jyoung@news-record.com

Louisville 7 9 0 13 -- 29

N.C. State 0 3 7 0 -- 10

Lou--Allen 7 run (Carmody kick)

Lou--FG Carmody 27

Lou--FG Carmody 42

NCS--FG Hauschka 42.

Lou--FG Carmody 30.

NCS--Hickman 2 pass from D.Evans (Hauschka kick)

Lou--Bolen 2 run (pass failed)

Lou--Stripling 18 pass from Brohm (Carmody kick)

A--56,487.

Louisville N.C. State

First downs 26 18

Rushes-yards 47-247 24-85

Passing 251 249

Comp-Att-Int 20-35-1 24-39-2

Return Yards 6 28

Punts-Avg. 3-40.0 3-40.7

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 4-3

Penalties-Yards 6-60 5-31

Time of Possession 38:18 21:42

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--Louisville, Bolen 18-112, Allen 19-85, Stripling 8-29, Spillman 2-21. N.C. State, A.Brown 16-92, Eugene 4-9, D.Evans 2-0, Beck 2-(minus 16).

PASSING--Louisville, Brohm 20-33-1-251, Team 0-2-0-0. N.C. State, Beck 17-28-2-181, D.Evans 7-11-0-68.

RECEIVING--Louisville, Mar.Urrutia 5-49, Stripling 4-38, Barnidge 4-27, Guy 2-50, Kuhn 2-35, Carter 2-26, Allen 1-26. N.C. State, A.Brown 5-38, Bowens 4-89, Blackman 4-44, Dunlap 4-30, Hickman 3-11, Eugene 2-28, Stone 1-7, Ja.Williams 1-2.