Analysis: NC State is a good team, but Miami loss shows why Wolfpack isn’t a great one
Close but no cigar has become an all-too familiar phrase around the N.C. State football program.
Of all the heartbreaks the Wolfpack has traditionally suffered, Friday night’s 44-41 loss to No. 11 Miami ranks up there with the best of them.
N.C. State (4-3, 4-3 ACC) did plenty to win the game. The Wolfpack scored 41 points, took care of the football (for the most part) and even got big plays from its special teams. But the defense couldn’t slow down D’Eriq King and surrendered a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter — the kind of breakdown that separate good teams from great ones.
This season, better than expected by some accounts, has had its highs. The Wolfpack went on the road and beat a ranked opponent (Pittsburgh) and strung together three straight wins. Their three losses, all to ranked teams, though, show there is still some separation. In their four wins, big plays were made — goal-line stands, forced turnovers, blocked kicks; these were game-changing moments. In their losses, especially the latest heartbreak to Miami, there were too many plays left on the field.
“You have to give Miami credit,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “They made a big play when they needed to, and we didn’t at the end. We just couldn’t put them away. It’s unfortunate.”
It’s the fourth straight time N.C. State has dropped a game to a ranked opponent while scoring at least 40 points.
The Wolfpack went up 10 on a 53-yard field goal from Christopher Dunn with 14:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, but N.C. State wouldn’t score again. With a 41-31 lead and King (535 yards of total offense) nearly unstoppable, the Wolfpack had chances to secure a second win over a ranked opponent this year.
(RELATED: In a year as unpredictable as 2020, you can still count on NC State blowing the big game)
But that one more play Doeren spoke of never happened. After Dunn’s field goal, the Wolfpack only managed six yards in the final quarter. Miami had 213. Great teams finish games in the fourth.
Nursing a four-point lead with 3:51 remaining, the Wolfpack punted the ball back to the Hurricanes, who set up shop at their own 16. Isaiah Moore sacked King for a loss of 8 and it appeared the N.C. State defense had finally rattled the elusive Canes QB. But on the next play, with the flick of his wrist, King found Michael Harley down the middle for a gain of 35. Two plays later, the duo connected again for a 54-yard touchdown that turned out to be the game-winning score.
“They made one more play than we did at the end,” Doeren reiterated. “We had our chances, obviously, and didn’t make enough plays.”
The Wolfpack didn’t force a turnover for the second straight game and surrendered 500 yards for the second consecutive contest. This was an improvement from the North Carolina game, with a more explosive passing game from Bailey Hockman (12-of-19 passing for 248 yards) and a more consistent running game (131 yards on the ground), but defensively, even with two sacks on King, there wasn’t enough consistent pressure to slow down Miami.
This team proved it can go toe-to-toe with a college football giant, “we lost by three and that was the No. 11 team in the country, that shows what we are capable of,” running back Bam Knight explained, but the one big play eluded N.C. State just as much as King with his legs.
“In the games we’ve won, we’ve made them,” Doeren said. “We didn’t make it tonight. In our other four wins, somebody made a big play. Tonight it wasn’t. We just didn’t make the plays there at the end. I wouldn’t say that’s a consistent problem, that was the problem tonight.”
With Hockman making his fourth start, the junior quarterback had his best outing since the Wake Forest game in the opener. He even caught the first touchdown of the game — a trick play throw by wide receiver Thayer Thomas — but Hockman and the offense got stuck in neutral in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
“I don’t think they (Miami) changed much,” Hockman said. “They were running the same thing, they just executed a little bit better than we did. We just have to keep building and keep working from here.”
The Wolfpack have four games remaining on their schedule, three at home and just one opponent (Liberty) is currently ranked. The 2020 pandemic year can still end on a positive with plenty to celebrate. A win over a top-15 team at home was well within reach, but if N.C. State responds the right way next week against Florida State, it will forget about this one and not look back.
“It’s difficult, but as a team we have to keep on playing, keep on striving to be great,” defensive back Tyler Baker-Williams said. “We just have to keep on playing hard like we did.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
