Who will do more as NCSU meets ECU: Jaylen Samuels or James Summers?
N.C. State (1-0) at East Carolina (1-0)
Kickoff: Noon, Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville
TV/Radio: ESPNU, 101.5-WRAL
ECU’s strength: First-year coach Scottie Montgomery could not have asked for much more from senior quarterback Philip Nelson in a 52-7 win over Western Carolina. Nelson completed 28 of 32 passes for 398 yards with five touchdowns. He also had a rushing touchdown.
Nelson won the job in the spring, which precipitated Kurt Benkert’s transfer to Virginia. After one game at least, it appears that Montgomery made the right choice.
Receiver Zay Jones was Nelson’s favorite target. He caught 10 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown. Given some of N.C. State’s problems in the secondary, Jones could be in for a big day.
Key theme: Which “Mr. Versatility” will do more: N.C. State’s Jaylen Samuels or ECU’s James Summers? Samuels, listed as a fullback, had three touchdowns in N.C. State’s 48-14 win over William & Mary and led the Wolfpack with 16 touchdowns last season.
Summers, listed as a receiver, played quarterback last season and was used as a running back with 95 yards, on just 10 carries, in last week’s win.
You figure there’s a package or two for Summers to play quarterback and also get involved in the passing game as a receiver.
Samuels spent a lot of time in the slot last week and led the team with five catches for 66 yards. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Samuels even more involved in the passing game.
Joe Giglio
Wake Forest (1-0) at Duke (1-0)
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: ESPNU, 99.3-WDNC, 620-WDNC
Wake Forest’s strength: It starts with the defense. The Deacons opened the season with a 7-3 win over Tulane, allowing 280 yards in total offense. Tulane had 35 minutes of possession time and was 8-for-20 on third-down conversions but was 0-for-2 in the red zone and held to three points. Safety Jessie Bates, a redshirt freshman, had a team-high eight tackles and defensive end Julian Jackson notched two of the Deacs’ four sacks in the game. Wake Forest struggled offensively, getting its only TD on a short run by quarterback Kendall Hinton, a former Southern Durham standout, but the defense made the points stand up.
Key theme: Wake Forest will look to pressure and rush Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, a redshirt freshman who was poised and effective in the opener against N.C. Central. The Blue Devils’ balance on offense should ease Jones’ job, and Duke should go into the game believing it can outscore the Deacons. Wake Forest did pass for more than 300 yards against Duke last season in a 27-21 loss to the Devils, its fourth in a row to Duke.
Chip Alexander
UNC (0-1) at Illinois (1-0)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.
TV/Radio: Big Ten Network, 106.1-WTKK
Illinois’s strength: A while back, Chris Kapilovic, the UNC offensive coordinator, said he read that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer described Illinois’ defensive line as the Big Ten’s best. Kapilovic isn’t disagreeing. The Illini lack talent at several positions but their defensive line, led by defensive end Dawuane Smoot, is stout. Smoot is one of the best ends in the country, and is likely to be a high NFL draft pick. Two defensive tackles, Rob Bain and Chunky Clements, are also back from last season. This will be a formidable test for UNC’s offensive line, which is likely to be without right guard Tommy Hatton.
Key theme: After a deflating performance on a national stage UNC seeks to rebound and build some momentum on Saturday. Sound familiar? The Tar Heels find themselves in the exact same position as they did a year ago. Back then, though, they recovered from their opening-game loss against South Carolina with an easy victory against N.C. A&T in Week 2. Then came a dominant 48-14 home victory against Illinois. The Illini have a completely new coaching staff, led by Lovie Smith, and this is an early measuring stick game for his program. UNC needs to be sharper in all areas, but especially offensively.
Andrew Carter
Other area games
N.C. Central (0-1) at Western Michigan (1-0), 7 p.m., ESPN3, Waldo Stadium, Kalamazoo: N.C. Central is facing its second consecutive FBS opponent in Western Michigan, which upset Northwestern last week. Eagles coach Jerry Mack has said his main goal for the first two weeks is to stay healthy, as N.C. Central has never beaten an FBS team.
Campbell (1-0) at Chowan (1-0), 6 p.m., WUAW-88.3, Garrison Stadium, Murfreesboro: One week after rolling over Bluefield with 411 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, Campbell’s rushing attack will face another non-FCS defense in Chowan.
Carson-Newman (0-1) at St. Augustine’s (0-1), 1 p.m., WAUG-750, George Williams Athletic Complex, Raleigh: After a 62-0 loss to FCS-level North Carolina A&T, St. Augustine’s returns home, hoping that multi-faceted quarterback D.J. Johnson can help them outscore an offensively explosive Carson-Newman team.
Shaw (0-1) at Wingate (1-0), 1:30 p.m., ESPN3, Irwin Belk Stadium, Wingate: Adrian Jones seeks his first win as Shaw head coach after his team lost 35-6 to Limestone with negative-79 rushing yards last week. Wingate won this matchup 30-16 last year.
This story was originally published September 9, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Who will do more as NCSU meets ECU: Jaylen Samuels or James Summers?."