Wolfpack defense earns poor grades for second straight week after getting torched by Virginia Tech

Ben Ellis, Correspondent

After a mostly lackluster performance against Wake Forest last week, the NC State football defense didn’t show much, if any, sign of improvement in this week’s 45-24 loss at Virginia Tech.

The Wolfpack gave up 495 total yards to the Hokies, over 100 more than it gave up against Wake Forest, in a game that was over by halftime. 

For the second straight week, the defensive units earned subpar grades.

Secondary

The Virginia Tech passing attack was dealt a blow before the game when it was announced that quarterback Hendon Hooker would be inactive, but that didn’t stop the NC State secondary from having a tough time. The Pack struggled against starting QB Braxton Burmeister, who had his way with 106 yards on seven for 11 passing before exiting the game with an injury.

The next quarterback to come in for the Hokies, Quincy Patterson, picked up right where Burmeister left off, throwing for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Compared to the 236 yards the NC State secondary gave up last week to Wake Forest, the 181 passing yards this week was an improvement. However, that is largely due to the fact that the Hokies didn’t need to throw the ball so much because they were able to run the ball with ease, which will be addressed. Because the numbers are slightly better this week, the secondary gets a slightly better grade than it did last week.

Grade: D

Linebackers

The Hokies ran all over NC State’s rushing defense, finishing with a staggering 314 yards on the ground. Running back Khalil Herbert ran for 104 yards on just six carries and averaged 17.3 yards per rush, while the Hokies averaged 7.7 yards per rush as a team.

Perhaps the one bright spot for the NC State defense this week was redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore, who led the team with nine total tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. But for giving up over 300 yards on the ground, the linebacker unit doesn’t get a passing grade this week.

Grade: F

Defensive Line

The NC State defensive line got pushed around by the Virginia Tech offensive line and wasn’t able to put much pressure on the Hokies’ quarterbacks, managing just two sacks. Moving forward, the D-line will need to win more battles in the trenches to give the Pack a chance of winning some more games this year.

Grade: F