NC State never gets going, runs into a road block against Mississippi State
The struggle continues.
Another big game, another N.C. State heartbreak. The Wolfpack were favored on the road against SEC opponent Mississippi State. All signs were pointing to N.C. State getting over the hump and finally getting a defining win in the Dave Doeren era.
Fans will have to keep waiting.
The Bulldogs waved the SEC flag early and often and N.C. State heads back to Raleigh with more questions than answers after suffering a 24-10 defeat.
After a 45-point win in week one, a trip to Starkville would provide more of an assessment. The jury is still out. N.C. State’s defense did enough early, but eventually ran out of steam. Bulldogs’ quarterback Will Rogers shook off a slow start and picked the Wolfpack defense apart, finishing 33-49 for 294 yards and two scores.
It was a different MSU (2-0) offense than the one the N.C. State (1-1) defense held to five yards in the first quarter. But as the Pack offense never got out of neutral, the Bulldogs offense were pedal to the medal after some early help from its special teams unit.
Mississippi State threw the first punch before many fans found their seats. Lideatrick Griffin took the opening kickoff 100-yards to the end zone for a score 53 seconds into the game, putting the Dogs up early, 7-0.
To their credit, the N.C. State defense was lights out the rest of the first quarter, holding MSU to five yards on nine plays. It was the Wolfpack offense that struggled.
N.C. State moved into the red zone once, on their second drive of the game. On third and six from the five, Ricky Person Jr. attempted a jump pass that was picked off by Jalen Green. The Wolfpack covered 45 yards on that drive. They covered 43 on their lone scoring drive, which ended with a 45-yard field goal from Christopher Dunn, making it 7-3 in favor of the home team.
The Bulldogs offense finally wore down N.C. State before the half, covering 83-yards on 13 plays. MSU converted two third downs and one fourth down on the drive, ending with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to Malik Heath. Rogers was nearly perfect on the drive, completing six of his nine pass attempts.
Mississippi State led 14-3 at the break and the second half could not have started any worse for N.C. State. While fighting for extra yards, Zonovan Knight fumbled the ball back to the Bulldogs. Rogers was a perfect 4-4 on the ensuing drive, hitting Jaden Walley for a 4-yard score, pushing the MSU margin to 18 with 8:59 remaining in the third.
The Bulldogs trailed by double digits in the second half of their opener last week, but led the entire way in this one, controlling the ball for 30:49 minutes. After field goal attempts on consecutive drives in the first half, the Pack had eight straight empty possessions. Devin Leary (33-49, 294) hit Thayer Thomas for a 4-yard score with 1:06 remaining.
Offsides
N.C. State has now dropped nine of its last 10 games versus SEC opponents. Under Doeren, the long win over an SEC opponent was against Vanderbilt in 2016.
ICYMI
At the end of the first quarter a special guest with N.C. State ties was honored on the field: Pack baseball coach Elliott Avent, along with members of the Mississippi State teams who are on Team USA. Avent was the Team USA coach this summer.
Key numbers
0-2: It didn’t happen often and when it did happen, N.C. State didn’t take advantage. Trips to the red zone were hard to come by and the Wolfpack came up empty in each trip inside the 20.
16: N.C. State’s offense only managed 16 total yards in the second quarter.
33: There was a complete lack of a running game. Thirty-three yards won’t get it done.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 10:41 PM.
