NC State vs Liberty football gameday guide: How to watch and stream, key matchups
If the season ended today, the 2020 N.C. State offense, averaging 33.5 points per game, would rank fourth in school history.
Production has improved under coordinator Tim Beck and the Wolfpack has shown it can go toe-to-toe in a shootout if needed. Which brings us to the next opponent for N.C. State, No. 21 Liberty (8-0).
The Flames have one of the best offenses in the country, ranking in the top 20 in three different categories and are led by Malik Willis at quarterback. Willis, an Auburn transfer, is No. 7 in the country for points responsible for (144) and No. 11 in total offense (335.0). Willis is in the top 20 in the nation in rushing yards (700) and rushing touchdowns (9).
That could be troublesome for the N.C. State defense, which is giving up 456.5 yards per game, 96th in the country. Four different opponents have scored 40 points or more on the Wolfpack this season. Three of those games resulted in an NCSU loss. Liberty comes in averaging right at 40.5 points, which brings up the question — can the defense do enough this week to finally help out the offense?
“We don’t feel any pressure at all,” safety Tanner Ingle said. “We have to play complimentary football and if we don’t do our part, obviously, we aren’t going to win the game. We’re just happy that our offense has been playing so well because it’s been making our job a lot easier as a defense.”
It won’t be easy for the defense against Willis. The junior from Atlanta has completed 122 of 180 passes for 1,645 yards and 15 scores. He’s only thrown one interception this season and has thrown 120 straight passes without an interception.
“He has a lot of good players around him,” Ingle said. “He’s physical, he can throw the ball literally anywhere on the field. We just have to do a good job of playing collective football as a defense, to make sure everyone is doing their job. That’s the only way we will be able to contain him.”
Defensive end Daniel Joseph said the defense has to “pull our own weight” against Liberty, and part of that means trying to make Willis uncomfortable.
“I think it comes down to understanding his strengths and where shortcomings come,” Joseph said. “We have to find the positives and negatives and try to exploit those negatives and limit those positives.”
What channel is NC State vs. Liberty game on?
The Wolfpack and Flames will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on Fox Sports South in North Carolina. The game will be on regional sports networks in other parts of the country. The game can be streamed using the Fox Sports Go app or on FoxSportsGo.com with a valid cable or satellite subscription.
NC State vs. Liberty betting information
As of Friday afternoon, the Wolfpack was a 3.5-point favorite over the Flames. The over/under is 66.5.
NC State-Liberty game notes
This is the first time since 2008 (ECU and South Florida) that the Wolfpack has hosted a ranked non-conference opponent.
In the only previous meeting before the two teams, N.C. State defeated Liberty 47-21.
Redshirt freshman defensive end Terrell Dawkins has recorded a sack in each of the last five games.
The Flames are the fifth-ranked team the Wolfpack has played this season. The last time N.C. State played five ranked teams in one season was in 1997.
Liberty has won 10 games in a row, the second longest win streak in the country behind Notre Dame (14).
This will be the first night game the Flames have played this season.
Saturday will be the first meeting between head coaches Dave Doeren and Hugh Freeze.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
