Here’s what’s worked for NC State — and what hasn’t — as the Wolfpack hits its bye week
Time to take a deep breath.
No. 23 N.C. State heads into the bye week after a 34-27 win over Louisiana Tech last weekend. The Wolfpack sits at 4-1 overall, but it’s all conference games from here on.
N.C. State has looked like a well-oiled machine at times (home wins over USF and Furman) and completely lost (Mississippi State) at others.
An upset win over then-No. 9 Clemson has been the peak of the schedule so far, meaning the Wolfpack control their destiny the rest of the way in pursuit of an Atlantic Division title. Before N.C. State begins that quest, it gets a week off to regroup, correct the mistakes and build on what they’ve done in the first five games.
“We need a bye right now,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said after the win over Louisiana Tech. “We’re definitely ready for one, physically and mentally. To go into the bye week somewhat healthy, we’ve got bruises and things like that, guys are definitely going to take advantage of the rest I’m going to give them, but we have things to work on, too, and we need to get better.”
While N.C. State takes a pause, let’s look ahead to the remainder of the season, what’s worked and what the challenges facing the Pack moving ahead.
WHAT’S WORKED SO FAR
Solid defense
With 10 starters back, the N.C. State defense was expected to play well, and has held up its end of the bargain. Even down three starters, the Wolfpack leads the ACC in interceptions (7), rushing defense (92.0) and third down conversions, and is in the top five in total defense, scoring defense and passing defense.
The defense has saved the day for the past two games before the bye week. In double overtime against Clemson, the defense forced an incomplete pass on 4th and 5 to seal a win. Against the Bulldogs last week, Jakeen Harris picked off Austin Kendall in the end zone on the final play of the game.
“We rep those moments in practice,” linebacker Isaiah Moore said. “Doing those reps in practice and preparing for those moments got us right.”
Just keep running
The Louisiana Tech game was a perfect example of how things open up for the offense when N.C. State feeds running backs Ricky Person Jr., and Zonovan Knight.
The backfield duo got going in the second half and finished the game with a combined 176 yards. The only game this season when the Pack didn’t rush for more than 100 yards was the road loss to Mississippi State in week two.
Both Knight (fifth) and Person (ninth) are in the top 10 in the league in rushing.
Every weapon gets a touch
Knight and Person are the focal points of the run game (obviously), but it’s a little harder to figure out the hot man from game to game through the air.
Eighteen different players have caught at least one pass through the first five games. While Emeka Emezie (32 catches) and Thayer Thomas (23) lead the way, quarterback Devin Leary has shown he doesn’t mind spreading it around.
Devin Carter (16 catches) has made it tough for teams to just lock in on Emezie and Thomas. Carter has become a big play threat, averaging 16.2 yards per catch. In the redzone, Leary has shown a lot of trust in tight end Chris Toudle, who has only caught seven passes, but two have gone for touchdowns.
WHAT CHALLENGES ARE AHEAD?
Facing running QBs
La. Tech’s Austin Kendall might have revealed a hole in the N.C. State’s defense last week. Kendall, the Bulldogs’ quarterback, led the team in rushing with 71 yards on the ground. Most of that came in the second half on scrambles, not designed runs, but he was able to break down the Pack defense with his legs.
“We have to get that fixed, be sound in our rush lanes moving forward,” linebacker Isaiah Moore said. “We put that on tape, so the next couple of weeks we have to take that off of tape.”
Against Clemson, the Tigers longest run play of the day was a 37-yarder by quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. The rest of the schedule presents more quarterbacks who like to take off and run, particularly Miami’s D’Eriq King (if he returns from a shoulder injury) and Louisville’s Malik Cunningham in consecutive weeks.
The schedule
Speaking of consecutive weeks, it’s all ACC battles from here on. The Pack played four out of the first five games at Carter-Finley Stadium, but will play four of the next five on the road. N.C. State has an overall record of 42-48-3 on the road against their next four opponents: Boston College, Miami, Florida State, Wake Forest.
The only team out of the four they have a winning road record against are the Demon Deacons, and the Wolfpack hasn’t won in Winston-Salem since 2015.
The depth
Depth was a strength of the team in the preseason, but as the year goes along and if injuries pile up, can N.C. State continue to stay ahead of it?
So far the answer has been yes. Even down three starters on defense, the backups were groomed like starters and the team hasn’t missed a beat. While Jaylon Scott hasn’t tackled at as high a volume as Payton Wilson, the sophomore linebacker hasn’t been a liability on defense. The same can be said for Jakeen Harris (filling in for Cyrus Fagan) and Cory Durden (filling in for C.J. Clark).
But is there more depth across the board? The defensive line can’t afford to lose anymore guys. Even with Davin Vann and Joshua Harris getting more snaps, the defensive line still isn’t fully healthy. Defensive ends Ibrahim Kante and Terrell Dawkins are both slowly working themselves back from injuries. The duo has 18 career starts between them. It’s not just limited to the defensive side of the ball. The starting five on the offensive line has been consistent through the first five games, playing 1,492 of 1,520 snaps, but the reserves are unproven in game action. It doesn’t help that veteran back up tackle Tyrone Riley has missed the last two games with an injury.
Last year when Leary went down the backup was a former starter, Bailey Hockman. N.C. State doesn’t have that luxury this season. Both backup quarterbacks are freshmen.
