NC State hopes to glean lessons from Notre Dame loss, work on ‘complementary football’
The main lessons from N.C. State’s loss against Notre Dame can be summed up easily: Take advantage of momentum and limit self-inflicted errors.
Defensive lineman Noah Potter recovered a fumble in the third quarter, forcing a takeaway and putting the Wolfpack defense on the Notre Dame 17-yard line. State trailed the Irish by one touchdown and was less than 20 yards from the end zone.
A couple of incomplete passes, a false start penalty and a missed field goal – one kicker Brayden Narveson typically makes – ended what could’ve been an easy drive to tie the game.
“I think that was the turning point of the game. I really do,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said on Monday. “Obviously, the next three drives result in touchdowns for them and turnovers for us. (We) just didn’t get it done. Every time we got momentum back, Notre Dame answered. You have to give them credit, and we have to learn from that.”
The Wolfpack defense and special teams squads worked to create short fields for the offense, especially in the first half, but those efforts weren’t rewarded. At three different periods in the game, N.C. State trailed by just one possession. It’s hard to win football games in those situations.
N.C. State added 10 penalties for a loss of 82 yards. Doeren said some of those mistakes killed drives and positive momentum, including the one following Potter’s ball recovery. Sure it was just five yards, but every yard counts and that set the offense back on second down.
The defense gave up explosive plays after its hot start, as well. It should’ve never allowed an 80-yard rushing touchdown out of the weather delay.
With 1:10 left until halftime, the Wolfpack trailed by just three points and had a chance to pick up a stop. N.C. State would have regained possession to start the third quarter after winning the coin toss and deferring.
It allowed a 30-second, 78-yard touchdown drive instead. That swung energy in Notre Dame’s favor and widened the Pack’s deficit.
Doeren doesn’t think the final score fully reflects the overall performance – there were some positive steps made, notably on defense and special teams – but it did reflect the plays that weren’t made when necessary.
“It’s a great learning opportunity on complementary football,” Doeren said. “We talk about that ad nauseam here, but I think all of us know sometimes something has to actually happen versus being said for a lesson to be learned.”
The best way to forget about Saturday, he added, is to prepare for this weekend and try to respond again.
“There was a true sense of anger in the team room yesterday, because they know that they let one go and that they’re better than what they showed in that game,” Doeren said.
N.C. State hosts VMI for the first time since 1946 on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium.
This story was originally published September 12, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
