Although Leroy Burgess was being asked about a ranking that says good things about N.C. State's defense, he seemed uncomfortable even talking about it.
Burgess was aware Monday that the Wolfpack entered this week ranked No. 1 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense at 201.3 yards per game. But after N.C. State gave up 31 points Saturday amid an epidemic of missed tackles against Pittsburgh, Burgess was reluctant to give the statistics much validity.
"It doesn't matter right now to us," said Burgess, a senior defensive tackle. " ... If at the end of the season that still stands, that would be a great accomplishment."
Coach Tom O'Brien also said it's too early to judge the defense based on its statistics, but he credited N.C. State's success so far to the health of its defensive front.
The Wolfpack (3-1, 0-0 ACC) continues to shuttle players in and out of the secondary, where freshman Brandan Bishop and redshirt freshman Earl Wolff are listed as starters on the depth chart for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game at Wake Forest (2-2, 0-1).
Safety Clem Johnson and cornerbacks DeAndre Morgan and Rashard Smith have missed games with injuries in the secondary. But the eight defensive linemen and six linebackers on the two-deep depth chart have yet to miss a game for the Wolfpack.
That strength up front has helped N.C. State hold opponents to 2.4 rushing yards per carry. The experience of the linemen -- all four starters are seniors -- also has helped the Wolfpack make necessary changes during games.
N.C. State struggled early in the 38-31 defeat of Pittsburgh but allowed just 11 of the Panthers' 300 yards -- and no points -- in the final 19 minutes.
"I think we're getting better with talking to each other during the game and figuring things out on the sidelines, making adjustments," Burgess said.
There's no doubt N.C. State has room for improvement. The team's defensive scoring stats (14.8 ppg, 20th in FBS) aren't nearly as impressive as the yardage numbers.
Missed tackles -- O'Brien said there were more than 20 against Pittsburgh -- also hurt the Wolfpack against the Panthers and South Carolina.
"That's hard to explain," defensive end Shea McKeen said. "I don't want to make any excuses. We've just got to get better."
Even amid the missed tackles, though, there are bright spots. O'Brien said N.C. State missed seven tackles on one catch by Pittsburgh's Dorin Dickerson but kept hustling to the ball and got him down eventually.
That could be a result of a drill defensive coordinator Mike Archer instituted after the opener. The drill requires the entire defense to fly to the ball in practice after the ballcarrier is wrapped up.
If that doesn't happen, the entire defense does calisthenics until Archer is satisfied the lesson has been learned. That drill has resulted in better effort and more swarming of the ball -- and perhaps contributed to the No. 1 statistical ranking.
"As long as they stay healthy and keep playing as hard as they're playing, they're going to give us a chance to be a pretty good defensive football team," O'Brien said.
Spencer may return: Wide receiver Owen Spencer, who missed last week's game after suffering a concussion on Sept. 19 against Gardner-Webb, may return to practice this week, O'Brien said.
