With Thursday night game at Georgia Tech, NC State football gets ‘no rest for the weary’
Coaches always talk about picking up the pieces after a loss and moving on.
For N.C. State, that means a quick collection and move this week. As Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said Monday: “No rest for the weary.”
A Thursday night game this week in Atlanta against Georgia Tech has not allowed the Wolfpack players (or coaches) to hold on to the 34-20 loss to Louisville or dwell on the mistakes made.
“I told the team after the game that whether we won or lost we don’t have time to think about that game,” Doeren told the media at his weekly press conference. “There were some plays in that game that we have to learn from, so we watched it quickly and put it to bed. You’ve got to flush it. You have to.”
The Wolfpack’s turnovers
The Pack (4-6, 1-5 ACC) has not yet forced a turnover in six ACC games while it has turned the ball over 14 times. N.C. State had three giveaways in the loss to Louisville.
“It gives us a really difficult task of winning the ball game,” Doeren said. “It’s something we have to take a lot more seriously. It is an opportunity for these guys to continue to learn and I’m so impressed with our guys’ resolve and the way that they fight and their attitude and their will. It’s just got to be continued improvement on a daily basis.
“No one here enjoys the process of growing through defeat. But everyone here fights and presses on.”
While Doeren said he liked his team’s competitive play on the line of scrimmage, both offensively and on defense Saturday, a review of the Louisville game video had to be frustrating. One play in particular, resulting in another turnover, might have been more in keeping with the Pack’s woes this season.
On the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Devin Leary attempted a shovel pass to running back Jordan Houston. The left-handed pitch by Leary was awry. Louisville linebacker C.J. Avery got his hand on the ball and deflected it into the chest of linebacker Dorian Etheridge for a turnover, leading to the Cards’ first touchdown.
There was some luck involved. Call it a fortuitous deflection and pickoff. But it’s also the kind of play that has been missing for N.C. State’s defense.
“I’ve never been through a stretch like this where we’re not getting the ball back,” Doeren said. “In that game we have four or five hit our hands, which makes it even harder because we were in position to make those plays in that game and didn’t make them.
“Does it make me shake my head? I don’t know. Right now, it’s next play. That’s what I’m trying to do, you know. Obviously I’d love to light every candle in the world and do every trick there is to get us some good luck coming forward, but I really don’t have an answer for why they’re not coming our way.”
NC State injuries, lineup changes
While Doeren does not disclose specifics on injuries, defensive end James Smith-Williams was not listed on the two-deep depth chart for Thursday’s game. Smith-Williams was injured in the second half Saturday while tackling Cards quarterback Micale Cunningham, bringing a host of medical personnel on to the field.
Doeren said after the game that Smith-Williams was not seriously injured. Smith-Williams, who was able to walk off the field, later tweeted: “Im okay. Thanks you for the thoughts and prayers.”
Deonte Holden is listed as the starter at defensive end. One other change: sophomore safety Tanner Ingle as the kickoff returner, replacing freshman receiver Keyon Lesane.
Georgia Tech is 2-8 in Geoff Collins’ first year as coach and 1-6 in the ACC after a 45-0 loss to Virginia Tech in Atlanta this past Saturday. But someone will have a second ACC win after Thursday night as the Wolfpack looks to end a four-game skid.
“For us it’s about giving ourselves a chance to win and it starts with your mindset every day and then just executing in a certain way where you’re never beating yourself in the process,” Doeren said. “That’s what made us a good football team in the past. We’re not doing those things, to earn the right to win.”
NC State at Georgia Tech
When: 8 p.m., Thursday
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta
Watch: ESPN
Listen: WRAL-101.5 Triangle; WXRC-95.7 Charlotte
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 3:05 PM.
