NC State hopes to turn Clemson loss into motivation

There’s no way to sugarcoat a 41-0 loss.

Jaylen Samuels didn’t even try to on Monday when describing N.C. State’s performance at Clemson last year.

“It was very bad,” the sophomore running back said. “The score was terrible. We just have to take that as motivation coming into this week.”

No. 3 Clemson (7-0, 4-0 ACC) gave the Wolfpack (5-2, 1-2) plenty of motivation in the most lopsided loss in a series that goes back to 1899.

N.C. State couldn’t do much right on offense or defense. The 156 total yards by the offense were the fewest in 32 games under coach Dave Doeren. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett finished just 4 of 18 for 35 passing yards.

The defense gave up touchdowns the first three drives to open the game, and the Tigers finished with 493 yards of total offense.

“We just got way behind early, couldn’t get back into it,” Doeren said on Monday.

Different coaches treat blowout losses differently. Some don’t want to go back and dwell on the negative, others will try to use the game tape as a source of motivation.

Doeren said the players will watch the game with their coaches this week.

“Not all, but a lot of them played in it, so they’ll remember it,” Doeren said. “I don’t think there’s a ton that needs to be said.”

N.C. State’s loss at Clemson last year was also notable because it came a week after a 56-41 home loss to Florida State. The Wolfpack led then-No. 1 FSU 24-7 in the first quarter and 38-28 in the second half before the Seminoles rallied.

Doeren has said before that he thought his team let that one loss turn into two with a flat performance at Clemson.

If the Tigers didn’t have N.C. State’s attention before, a 58-0 destruction of Miami this past Saturday surely did the trick.

Twice on Monday, junior cornerback Jack Tocho described Clemson as a “monster.” The Tigers are the ACC’s only unbeaten team and are in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

But, Tocho said, the Wolfpack can’t be intimidated.

“We always have a saying, ‘Don’t look at the mountain, just climb,’ ” Tocho said.

On the bright side for N.C. State, it has a history of knocking off top 10 teams at home. The Wolfpack has won three of its past five games at Carter-Finley Stadium against top 10 opponents, including a 37-13 upset of No. 7 Clemson in 2011.

Also, the Tigers will be without two key players from last year’s wipeout. Receiver Mike Williams had touchdown catches of 56 and 31 yards on the first two drives of the game and finished with six catches for 155 yards.

Williams has been out of the lineup since suffering a neck injury in the season-opener against Wofford on Sept. 5.

And while the Tigers rank in the top 10 in the country in total defense (No. 4) and scoring defense (No. 7), they no longer have defensive end Vic Beasley. Beasley terrorized the Wolfpack the past two years. The No. 8 overall pick in last year’s draft, Beasley’s draft highlights were filled with plays against N.C. State.

Last year, Beasley had a sack and ripped the ball from Brissett’s hands and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown.

In 2013, he sacked Pete Thomas three times and forced a key fumble in a 26-14 Clemson win in Raleigh.

The Tigers do still have quarterback Deshaun Watson, who accounted for four touchdowns in last year’s game. Watson completed 17 of 29 passes for 267 yards and added 62 rushing yards.

Samuels said the Wolfpack is more concerned about the star players the Tigers have rather than the ones who are missing.

“We know they’re going to score points,” Samuels said. “They’re going to make plays. They’re a good football team.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 4:33 PM with the headline "NC State hopes to turn Clemson loss into motivation."