Five key plays in NC State’s 41-7 loss at Clemson
By the time Clemson scored its second touchdown on Saturday, the Tigers had more points than N.C. State had yards.
That’s a problem.
And N.C. State had many problems in Saturday’s disheartening 41-7 loss at Clemson but its biggest problem was the way it started the game.
In a matchup of unbeaten top-20 teams, with ACC title implications — and one of the biggest games in school history — N.C. State never got out of the starting block.
“We didn’t come out ready to play,” safety Jarius Morehead said.
Almost nothing went right for the Wolfpack (5-1, 2-1 ACC), including the most basic elements. There were too many procedural penalties on offense and too many wide-open Clemson receivers running free on the defense.
Asked if there were any positives to salvage from the 34-point loss, Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said: “Not right now.”
The only positive for N.C. State is it didn’t waste its “Super Bowl” on Clemson in a loss. That’s what happened to N.C. State in 2016 and 2017. The Wolfpack played its best game of the season against the Tigers in those two seasons but had nothing to show for it.
Even worse, after the ‘16 loss at Clemson, the Wolfpack let the game beat them twice. The only positive to such a disastrous effort is at least N.C. State knows it can do better.
“We didn’t bring our best game,” receiver Jakobi Meyers said. “I feel like when you come into a stadium like this, against a team like this, you have to come with all we got. We didn’t show up like we usually do.”
Five key plays in the Wolfpack’s first loss of the season:
1. Attack the weakness
Score: Clemson 0, N.C. State 0
Time: 13:18 first quarter
Field position: 3rd and 3 at the N.C. State 38
N.C. State’s defense is built on a “bend, don’t break” premise. In general, it’s willing to give up plays in front of them, in order to avoid the home runs over the top.
The philosophy has served them well this season, especially with the way it had been able to clam up in the red zone in the first five games (5 touchdowns allowed on 15 trips).
But Clemson figured out what N.C. State was willing to give up, the patterns on the outside, and kept taking it.
On the only third down of Clemson’s opening drive, receiver Tee Higgins drove cornerback Chris Ingram down field, then cut off his route after 10 yards. Ingram is 5 yards away when Higgins makes his break.
Lawrence, who has an incredible arm, delivered a perfect NFL-type throw on the out (from the opposite hash) to pick up the first down.
“They were running outs all the time,” Morehead said. “They knew that was the weakness of our defense. They just kept attacking our defense where the weakness was.”
Higgins did get a deep shot for Clemson’s second TD (a 46-yarder) but for the most part, he built up his stats (eight catches, 119 yards) on this type of route.
2. Early warning
Score: Clemson 7, N.C. State 0
Time: 11:19 first quarter
Field position: 2nd and 10 at the N.C. State 25
Ryan Finley dropped back 50 times against Clemson’s vaunted defense in last year’s game in Raleigh. The N.C. State quarterback was sacked once in all of those pass attempts and even that was when Finley gave himself up on the play.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney challenged his defense in the run-up to this game to get pressure on Finley.
On the second snap of the game, Finley tried to run a bootleg off of a play-fake. Clemson safety Tanner Muse read the play, blitzed and made a beeline for Finley for a 9-yard loss. It was actually the only time Finley was sacked but the message was clear enough from Clemson’s defense.
3. Old reliable
Score: Clemson 7, N.C. State 0
Time: 3:32 first quarter
Field position: 3rd and 8 at the Clemson 43
Hunter Renfrow secured his place in Clemson history long ago with the game-winning touchdown in the 2016 national title game. The former walk-on has been clutch for the Tigers his entire career.
The senior slot receiver has been slow out of the gates this season. With the exit of quarterback Kelly Bryant and the transition to Lawrence, Renfrow couldn’t quite find a groove in the Tigers’ first six games.
With an open date and more practice time with Lawrence, the Tigers’ old reliable was a force early against the Wolfpack. The first play of the game was a deep shot to Renfrow, who was being covered by freshman Tanner Ingle.
Ingle has added a boost of tackling toughness to N.C. State’s defense but he has also given up a deep pass, or touchdown, in each game this season. The Tigers saw that on tape and went after Ingle early.
Renfrow, whose best game before Saturday was a four-catch, 59-yard effort at Texas A&M on Sept. 8, was targeted three times on the opening drive. He finished with five catches for 41 yards.
Ingle was briefly replaced on the second series by Stephen Griffin at nickel. Lawrence still found a favorable matchup for Renfrow.
On 3rd and 8, Renfrow was in the slot to Lawrence’s left. He was being covered by linebacker Germaine Pratt. Renfrow beat Pratt to the first-down marker, stopped his route and came back to Lawrence for an 11-yard gain.
On the next play, Lawrence went deep to Higgins for six.
4. The loss in a nutshell
Score: Clemson 14, N.C. State 0
Time: 2:59 first quarter
Field position: 1st and 10 at the N.C. State 25
Your best players have to be your best players. This is one of the favorite axioms of former N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe.
This season, Kelvin Harmon and Finley have been N.C. State’s best players. The combination had been unstoppable in the first two ACC games (15 catches, 222 yards, two touchdowns).
Harmon’s strength is his hands and his ability to use his body to box out defenders and then snare any pass in his general vicinity. During the NFL draft, you’ll hear a lot about Harmon’s “catch radius.”
This play will not make Harmon’s draft highlight reel. He beat Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell off the line with a double move. Finley, who struggled throughout the first half, delivered this deep shot — from his 16-yard line to the Clemson 44 — to Harmon in stride.
Harmon took his eye off the ball for a split-second, to look ahead at the empty field ahead of him, and dropped the ball. A big chunk here and N.C. State could slide back into the thick of the game. Instead, it was basically the game in a nutshell. N.C. State had a big opportunity in its hands and couldn’t grasp it.
Harmon, who had averaged an ACC-best 106.8 receiving yards per game before the Clemson game, finished with two catches for 13 yards. He never really seemed to recover from the drop.
“It definitely shocked me but Kelvin is a warrior,” Meyers said. “I know if he takes one step back, he’s going to take two forward. I expect him to come back next week and show everybody who he really is.
5. But the shouting
Score: Clemson 14, N.C. State 0
Time: 2:22 second quarter
Field position: 3rd and 10 at the Clemson 39
After falling behind 14-0, N.C. State’s defense settled down and forced Clemson to punt and then Swinney got cute with a fake field goal (a trick play for his son, Will, the holder).
The Wolfpack got the ball back with 5:41 left in the half and down two touchdowns. N.C. State has been excellent in end-of-half situations.
This was a chance to get back in the game. The offense, which hadn’t crossed midfield to this point, was able to get a 26-yard pass from Finley to Meyers and then an 11-yard run by freshman running back Ricky Person.
Finally on Clemson’s side of the field, the Wolfpack offense faltered. Person ran for a 3-yard loss and then Finley hit Person for a short pass.
On 3rd and 10 from the Clemson 39, Finley needed a play to try to get points before the end of the half.
Clemson’s defensive line, which has given N.C. State’s offensive line problems in the past with (legal) movement along the line before the snap, seemed to confuse Finley and center Garrett Bradbury.
Finley didn’t look like he was ready for the snap, which was low, and the quarterback didn’t catch the shotgun snap. Then he made the problem worse by trying to pick the ball up, instead of falling on it, and Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence came up with the fumble.
With the gift — a gaffe between a sixth-year senior quarterback and fifth-year senior center — the Tigers needed seven plays to effectively put the game away.
Travis Etienne, who was held in check for the most part (with 39 yards on 15 carries), scored the second of his three touchdowns to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead and turn the lights out on N.C. State’s ACC title dreams.
This story was originally published October 21, 2018 at 9:07 AM.