After last Saturday’s win against Wake Forest, NC State football not only started off the season 1-0 but entered into an eight-way tie for first place in the ACC after two weeks. Wolfpack fans better enjoy it while it lasts, however, as their team is running into a buzzsaw in the form of a very good, 20th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies team.
While there weren’t any fans at Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday night, the introduction of redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman into the game was undoubtedly met with a mixture of “who?”s and boos. That being said, Hockman surprised many with his play against the Demon Deacons, marching the Wolfpack down the field on several drives seemingly at will. But while Hockman’s performance against the Deacs shouldn’t be dismissed as a fluke, it’s very unlikely he will do that against this Hokies team.
This year’s VT team returns nine starters from last year’s 8-5 squad, including a pair of redshirt senior safeties in Divine Deablo and Tyree Rodgers. The cornerbacks are young but talented; redshirt sophomores Armani Chatman and Jermaine Waller can make the plays that Wake Forest corners couldn’t. Wideouts like senior Emeka Emezie are in for a tough night in the office trying to navigate this Virginia Tech secondary.
If Hockman wants to defer to his other teammates, he might be out of luck. Senior Rayshard Ashby, a preseason All-American and candidate for the Nagurski and Bednarik awards, led the ACC in tackles last year with 120; not only is he back to anchor this Hokies defense against opposing teams’ running backs, but the first pair of running backs he gets to stop after resting during a long offseason is sophomore Zonovan Knight and junior Ricky Person Jr.
Knight and Person combined for 196 yards on 25 combined carries against Wake Forest, but if Ashby can stop the duo early, expect the rest of the linebacking corps, like redshirt sophomore Alan Tisdale and junior Dax Hollifield, to gain confidence and play more freely.
New Pack offensive coordinator Tim Beck has already worked his magic on the Wolfpack offense once before, and it’ll be up to him to see if he can pull another rabbit out of his hat against Virginia Tech.
The NC State defense looked helpless against redshirt sophomore Sam Hartman and the Wake Forest offense, which was missing its best receiver, redshirt sophomore Sage Surratt. If it doesn’t put in a better game plan next week, then things will only get worse when the team travels north of the state border into Virginia.
A note on the NC State secondary: If it can’t stop Wake Forest, it’s hard to see why it should be able to stop Virginia Tech. Three of Virginia Tech’s top four receivers have come back this season, and all of them are unequivocally more dangerous than what Wake Forest had to offer Saturday.
Junior Tré Turner (no, not Trea) is the most productive receiver coming back to the Hokies, with 34 catches and 553 yards last season, and yet somehow he’s not the most feared weapon this offense has. Sophomore Tayvion Robinson made a big splash a year ago when he caught 31 passes for 401 yards, one of the best stat lines among freshman receivers last year. Sophomore tight end James Mitchell didn’t catch a lot of balls last year, but he’s a target for the big play, getting 361 receiving yards and a whopping 17.2 yards per catch.
If the NC State corners want to prevent the ball from getting to the receivers and get some interceptions, then they’re out of luck. Virginia Tech redshirt sophomore quarterback Hendon Hooker boasted a 13-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the eight games he started last season. Hooker was pretty good at getting the ball to his receivers too, passing for 1,555 yards, or 194.4 yards per game.
Interestingly enough, while Knight and Person were the toast of the running back town in week two of the college football season, Virginia Tech may have its own version of that. There’s a lot of experience in that Hokie backfield, whether it be graduate student Khalil Herbert, redshirt junior Raheem Blackshear or redshirt junior Jalen Holston. Linebackers, including sophomore Drake Thomas, redshirt sophomore Payton Wilson and redshirt junior Vi Jones, have their work cut out for them.
An intriguing matchup to look for is the battle between the Virginia Tech offensive line and the Wolfpack defensive line. The VT offensive line returns all five starters, including All-ACC selections from last year juniors Christian Darrisaw and Lecitus Smith. It also has a transfer from Coastal Carolina in redshirt junior Brock Hoffman, which it can use to cycle in and out of the center position, not that it needs it anyway.
But the NC State defensive line came on late last Saturday with a last-minute defensive stand against Hartman and Wake Forest, and there’s some potential that it just rides that momentum into Lane Stadium. Junior Alim McNeill had a relatively quiet night for his standards against Wake Forest, though he still picked up three tackles and a forced fumble he later recovered.
The defensive line might be able to steal the game for the Wolfpack, but Virginia Tech is the whole package here. A Wolfpack defense that had a poor showing against Wake Forest will only play much worse against a much better opponent. So far, the returns from the Tim Beck hire have looked spectacular, but the offense won’t have quite as much pep in its step when playing against a defense that’s essentially another year older and wiser. The Pack will put up a fight, but it won’t be able to go the distance and will ultimately fall a bit short.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 45 – NC State 31
