RALEIGH — Dave Doeren has spent more than three decades coaching college football, but the N.C. State coach said Harvey Dyson delivered one of the most impressive plays he’s ever witnessed.
In the Wolfpack’s 31-28 win against Louisville on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Carter-Finley Stadium, Dyson’s relentless pursuit helped swing the game.
With the score tied early in the fourth quarter, Louisville running back Keyjuan Brown broke loose on a play for a huge gain that could have put the Cardinals (2-3, 1-2 ACC) in position to take the lead. Instead, Dyson ran Brown down, using a tomahawk-style strip to knock the ball loose on a fumble that was recovered by the Wolfpack (3-2, 1-1).
“I thought Harvey Dyson’s play – the pursuit on the forced fumble – was one of the best plays I’ve seen as a coach in my career,” Doeren said.
All out hustle from Harvey Dyson!#1Pack1Goalpic.twitter.com/w1Hzm3Y4Of
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 3, 2026
N.C. State capitalized on the turnover, driving for the go-ahead field goal. Dyson delivered the finishing blow on the next possession, recording a crucial third-down sack to stymie the Cards on their final drive before the Wolfpack ran out the final four minutes.
“Pursuit overcomes a lot of things on defense,” Doeren said. The veteran coach was impressed with the sack, but he couldn’t give enough praise to Dyson’s chase-down play.
“The effort play, that’s different,” Doeren said. “The sack is one thing, but when you run a kid down – their tailbacks are NFL players, both of ‘em – you run a kid down like that as a defensive edge and rip the football out, what an unbelievable play by Harvey Dyson.”
.@HarveyDysonIII in his bag!#1Pack1Goalpic.twitter.com/cto8nWmpMH
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 3, 2026
N.C. State linebacker Popo Aguirre, who had each of the Wolfpack’s three fumble recoveries, wasn’t surprised to see Dyson meet the moment.
“Harvey’s a dog, man. … A big-time player making a big-time play in a big-time game,” Aguirre said. “It was something I kind of seen coming.”
Aguirre admitted he “lost his breath” celebrating with Dyson after the fumble in the fourth quarter. After failing to finish at Vanderbilt, N.C. State was able to close against App State and Dyson helped close the door on the Cardinals.
“It was just all about straining,” Dyson said of his mindset. “It’s all about who’s going to make the play. I just feel like, why not me? … It was my time to make a play and I did.”
Dyson and N.C. State will try to stretch their winning streak to three games when they host Wake Forest (4-1, 2-1) on Saturday, Oct. 10 (Noon, CW Network), at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: The play Dave Doeren couldn’t stop talking about saved NC State vs Louisville