The winning team of this game probably needs to complete a pass in the second half.
Duke and N.C. State met last season, the Blue Devils winning 24-3 in Durham. It was a couple of weeks after Riley Leonard’s ankle injury in the loss to Notre Dame, and Henry Belin IV filled in — completing four passes, none of those in the second half.
This season, they’re meeting with Duke holding a one-game edge and N.C. State being the hotter team. While Duke has lost in the past two weeks to SMU and Miami, N.C. State has beaten the ACC’s new west coast teams (California and Stanford) to get to 5-4 and give itself a decent shot at a bowl next month.
To get to more about the Wolfpack, we’ve enlisted the help of Jacey Zembal, publisher of Wolfpack Central on the Rivals network.
Here is our five-part Q&A:
1. I like to start these with a simple vibe check. Fresh off of two wins that moved the Wolfpack above .500, how are things for this N.C. State team?
Answer: More encouraging due to freshman quarterback Cedrick “C.J.” Bailey giving hope to the offense. The pieces were always there, but it just took some time for them to come together. Bailey has solidified the quarterback positions, but redshirt freshman Daylan “Hollywood” Smothers has provided a burst at running back at the same time.
The defense has lost redshirt junior middle linebacker Caden Fordham for the season, but regained sophomore cornerback Brandon Cisse last Saturday against Stanford after he missed three games. Stanford’s offense came down to having four big plays, two of them runs for touchdowns by quarterback Ashton Daniels.
2. At risk of asking a simple question — did N.C. State’s offense find something in last weekend’s 59-28 thrashing of Stanford, or was the Cardinal just that bad defensively?
Answer: Probably a little bit of both. Stanford in general is playing a lot of true freshmen, who probably aren’t ready to be playing, so they got dominated in nearly every possible way.
N.C. State in turn likely is now concentrating on what they do well following the off week, and it remains to be seen if there is any consistency. The Wolfpack rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown against California on Oct. 19, and then had 40 carries for 281 yards and five scores against Stanford.
The truth is probably more in the middle with Duke, at Georgia Tech and at North Carolina looming. The loss against Duke last year changed N.C. State’s entire approach. The approach is still the same following this year’s off week, but just more efficient at doing it.
3. N.C. State’s skill players have been … what, exactly? I know there’s talent with Kevin Concepcion, Noah Rogers, Wesley Grimes, Jordan Waters, Justin Joly — maybe it’s a too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen type of issue?
Answer: Joly and Concepcion should always get emphasized, and probably more so with passes in the mid-range to Concepcion rather than the super short passes. Joly has 30 catches for 513 yards and three touchdowns, and Concepcion has 47 passes for 395 yards and five scores, so the difference in yards per catch is striking.
N.C. State didn’t need to get Smothers the ball in the passing game last Saturday, but he’s also capable. The outside receivers have the physical tools but are still trying to find their niche.
4. I’m not used to seeing N.C. State’s offense in the bottom half of the ACC for so many defensive measures — scoring, rushing defense, yards per play. What has happened on that side of the ball and is it fixable for the last three games?
Answer: Teams have gauged the Wolfpack defense, partly due to not getting consistent pressure on quarterbacks, but also some poor angles taken that lead to big plays. Patient teams can dink and dunk against them, but it just seems each game, something big happens.
California mostly did dink and dunk and it led to four field-goal attempts, but speedy running back Jaivian Thomas ripped off a 49-yard touchdown run to start the game. The play that never should have happened against Stanford was when the Cardinal were facing third down and 21 and did a direct run with Daniels, and he sprinted 67 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Then to prove it wasn’t a fluke, he ran for a 48-yard score.
Past N.C. State defenses kept opposing players in front of them and tackled well, and had great blitzers in the back seven to create havoc. That led to three future NFL linebackers, and Isaiah Moore went to training camp.
5. Three games left, one win shy of bowl eligibility for N.C. State — how much can be salvaged in this final stretch, given preseason expectations and where the Wolfpack has fallen short?
Answer: One of the great questions to this season is that if NC State were to run the table against Duke, Georgia Tech and North Carolina, would that salvage the season? Maybe that will decided by whether N.C. State wins its bowl game or not.
However, the way N.C. State lost against Clemson and Tennessee can’t be unseen, and the Wake Forest defeat was a tough blow.
My guess is that Bailey and the offense keeps progressing, the team gets 7-8 wins this season, which has been the historical norm, and fans will get excited during the offseason since many of the starters will be back, especially on offense.
