NC State has lots of things to fix before Pitt, but is there enough time?
The N.C. State football team returned to Raleigh from Blacksburg, Virginia around 5 a.m. Sunday morning.
Normally the Sunday after a game the team would come to the Murphy Center that afternoon. They would watch game film from the day before, first as a group, then break down into offense, defense and special teams and watch more film.
After that the team would get on the field and have a walk through, going over the corrections. Since the team didn’t get back from Virginia Tech until sunrise this week, coach Dave Doeren gave them Sunday off.
After a 21-point loss to the Hokies the night before, the team was already behind schedule as the next opponent awaits.
There is a saying that everyone has the same 24 hours, and what a person does in that 24 hours can make or break them. The week of a game is not created equal for college football teams, and N.C. State (1-1, 1-1) has a lot that needs to be corrected before heading to No. 24 Pittsburgh (3-0, 2-0) Saturday.
The things that needed to be corrected from the loss to Virginia Tech had to be pushed back from Sunday to Monday. The Hokies rushed for more than 300 yards, and the Wolfpack defense ranks dead last in the ACC.
Doeren thinks the problems they had in week one versus Wake Forest were different than the issues they had against the Hokies. Against the Demon Deacons, Doeren said the problems defensively were on the edges, with Wake Forest bouncing several runs to the outside for big gains. Against Virginia Tech, he said the defense wasn’t “diverse enough.”
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson’s 3-3-5 defense typically likes to blitz from different angles and throw different looks at the offense. Against Virginia Tech, Doeren said they may have settled too much for guys to just “be where you’re at” and made life easy for the Hokies offense.
With a late return on Sunday, is there enough hours in the week to correct things before moving onto Pittsburgh?
“You have to understand your problems don’t eliminate themselves in one film session,” Doeren said. “So if it’s a schematically thing, you’re spending time on it from a scheme standpoint, if it’s fundamentals, you’re drilling those fundamentals. If it’s an 11-on-11 play where everyone needs to be a part of it, then you’re running that play against the offense or defense to make sure they got it.”
That carries over to individual positions as well.
“If there are things that carry over, then you’re working on those corrections continued through your individual (drills) and make an action plan to help them,” Doeren added.
After the Virginia Tech loss, junior linebacker Isaiah Moore said the team didn’t tackle well, and that’s something they have to get better on at practice. That’s one of those fundamentals Doeren talked about that can be drilled over and over.
Teams can’t afford to spend extra time on tackling. Not when you eventually have to move forward to preparing for the next opponent. However, Doeren has to right the ship before he sets sail to the next destination. What makes it even trickier is, the Panthers saw the tape versus Virginia Tech. They saw what worked, and will try the same things in order to find success.
Senior tight end Dylan Autenrieth said the team learned a valuable lesson last week that should carry over to Saturday.
“In the Virginia Tech game we kind of got surprised by some stuff,” Autenrieth said. “Now we know what it feels like to truly stick to your rules, know your rules and go out and just play fast.”
The Hokies averaged 7.7 yards per carry against N.C. State, which means the Wolfpack can expect a heavy dose of run plays again this Saturday. Pitt comes into the game averaging 143.3 yards rushing, but will be chomping at the bits to run at the N.C. State defense, which is giving up 231.5 yards on the ground per game. During practice this week Doeren and his staff will make note of things Virginia Tech did well and go over them, correct those mistakes, just in case they see it again Saturday.
“I think everyone in this business copycats things,” Doeren said. “If there are things you’re not doing well, they will show up in the next game.”
