Little problems add up to big loss for NC State at East Carolina
The little things cost N.C. State a big game on Saturday at East Carolina.
Two missed field goals, an ill-fated fake field goal and an ill-timed 2-point decision added up to a 33-30 loss to the Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The Pirates (2-0) gladly accepted the Wolfpack’s mistakes and made some plays of their own for their sixth straight win over an ACC team.
It was the first of those under new coach Scottie Montgomery. After receiver Bra’Lon Cherry was wrestled to the ground at the ECU 24 and the clock ran out, Montgomery posed on the ECU sideline for the adoring sellout crowd of 50,719.
While ECU celebrated its third straight win over N.C. State, and eighth in the last 12 meetings, N.C. State coach Dave Doeren could only try to piece together all the miscues and missed opportunities.
The two teams nearly had the same number of yards (497 to 445 in N.C. State’s favor) and first downs (23 to 19 in ECU’s favor). As it usually is, the game was decided by the little things.
N.C. State missed a pair of field goals in the first quarter, from 44 and 42 yards.
“If you have one of the two, that’s overtime,” Doeren said.
But N.C. State didn’t make a field goal longer than 40 yards last season. So you can’t assume those points, even with a different kicker. Graduate transfer Connor Haskins missed both attempts.
What Doeren did control was a 2-point try in the second quarter and a fake field goal call in the third quarter.
After Jaylen Samuels gave N.C. State a 13-12 lead with a 5-yard touchdown run at 6:25 in the second quarter, the Wolfpack came out in a three-pronged formation spread from sideline to sideline.
Kicker Kyle Bambard lined up for the conversion as the quarterback in the middle of the field. On his left was a group of three players. Reserve tight end Clark Eyers had two blockers in front of him, and ECU had two defenders.
Bambard threw a pass to Eyers, but he dropped it.
“They had two guys out there; we had three,” Doeren said. “If we catch that, we walk in and get two points. I thought it was a good play call, we just didn’t execute it.”
That was one point given away. Early in the third quarter, with a 20-19 lead, N.C. State gave away three more.
There are some critical plays in the game that people won’t talk about, but that fake field goal, we worked on it. We worked really hard on it defensively and, man, we were gap sound and we played really, really good football there.
ECU coach Scottie Montgomery
On fourth-and-5 from ECU’s 11, Doeren elected to go for a fake field goal, instead of trying a 28-yarder.
On the fake, punter A.J. Cole ran the option with Bambard, the kicker.
Linebacker Terrell Richardson snuffed out the play and tackled Cole after 1-yard gain.
Doeren said his group missed a key block on Richardson.
“They made a nice play on it,” Doeren said. “I wouldn’t have called it if I didn’t think it was a good play.”
But ECU said they knew the fake was coming.
“There are some critical plays in the game that people won’t talk about, but that fake field goal, we worked on it,” Montgomery said. “We worked really hard on it defensively and, man, we were gap sound and we played really, really good football there.”
Penalties (eight for 54 yards) and third-down defense also hurt N.C. State’s chances to pick up an important win.
“It’s a small thing,” linebacker Airius Moore said about the penalties. “But over a period of time it affects the game.”
It’s a tough early lesson for the Wolfpack. With six ranked teams remaining on the schedule, it doesn’t get any easier from here.
“It’s just tough, really tough,” center Joe Scelfo said. “We can’t let it define our season.”
Given what happened and what’s left on the schedule, the little mistakes have put the Wolfpack in a big hole in Doeren’s fourth season.
Giglio: 919-829-8938, @jwgiglio
This story was originally published September 10, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Little problems add up to big loss for NC State at East Carolina."