NC State nearly upset the now No. 9 Miami Hurricanes, blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and falling to the middle of the pack in the ACC in the process. Now it enters the weakest stretch of its schedule, banged up but with four wins still on the horizon. Here are some takeaways from the loss:
Hockman finally puts things together
If there’s one thing redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman hasn’t been short on, it’s opportunities, between appearances against Ball State, Syracuse and Boston College last year as well as starts against Wake Forest and UNC-Chapel Hill earlier this season he has seen plenty of playing time. Hockman looked solid against Wake Forest and middling to terrible in the other games.
As veteran a quarterback as he was, Hockman seemed like he would never be able to move past freshman mistakes. Holding onto the ball too long, leaving the pocket too soon, throwing up balls that could only generously be described as 50/50, that’s the Hockman we know and don’t love, but that wasn’t the quarterback that showed up in Carter-Finley Stadium last Friday and put up 248 yards and two touchdowns on a 68 completion percentage.
Chalk it up to having the extra bye week, or offensive coordinator Tim Beck being a QB guru, but if that Hockman shows up for the remainder of the season, NC State’s offense won’t have any problem putting up points.
Defense unable to contain King
Miami quarterback D’Eriq King should thank NC State for giving him so much tape for NFL scouts because he may have made himself a lot of money on Friday. Head coach Dave Doeren said the game plan on defense was to contain Miami quarterback D’Eriq King and force him to make passes. The former didn’t happen and the latter did, to detrimental results for the Wolfpack. King torched NC State in one of the best performances of his career, passing for over 400 yards and five touchdowns on a 75% completion rate while pouring on 105 more yards on the ground.
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson had no answers for King. When Gibson sent pressure, Miami picked it up, and Miami’s receivers consistently won one-on-one matchups, but when the defense dropped back in zone, King had all day to pick apart the defense. Gibson’s calling plays with a hand tied behind his back with all the injuries in the secondary, but one would’ve hoped for a more creative gameplan given the extra week to prepare.
Baker-Williams steps up in Ingle’s absence
Though junior safety Tanner Ingle warmed up with the team, he was inactive against Miami with a hamstring injury. In his place, junior Tyler Baker-Williams, usually the starter at nickel, took his place. While he isn’t the same caliber player, Baker-Williams filled up the stat sheet, just like Ingle would’ve, with 14 tackles, a sack and a pass break up, all of which led the team. If Ingle can’t go for the remainder of the season, Baker-Williams seems to be at home in his role, but providing the leadership Ingle does is another story.
Getting off the field
As porous as the defense has been this year, it’s done a surprisingly good job of getting off the field on third down. It ranks fifth in the ACC, allowing just 36% of third downs to be converted, and even put up a similar performance against Miami, as the Hurricanes went just 7-16 on third down. The problem for the defense is just getting to third down in the first place.
Miami averaged over 6 yards on first downs, but Miami’s average distance to go on third down was also 6 yards. Getting the offense behind the chains early on is the key to this defense working, and that starts with NC State’s defensive line. The Wolfpack didn’t make enough plays in Miami’s backfield on Friday, and that’s why it couldn’t slow down its offense.
Looking ahead
The Wolfpack will look to shake things off this Saturday against Florida State. The Seminoles are among the bottom of the ACC, and on paper, NC State should roll, especially without starting quarterback Jordan Travis, who was injured against Pitt on Saturday. The Seminoles may have to start a true freshman on the road, and against a weaker offensive line, Gibson’s blitz calls should be much more effective. The real concern for NC State might be a looming matchup with a top-25 Liberty squad.
