With how the football game against Wake Forest went, the last thing fans expected to win the game for NC State was extra effort on defense. There is good reason for this, because for the first 59 minutes of Saturday’s contest, Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman was able to carve up the Wolfpack defense. 

Even though a sack, strip-sack and pass deflection in the last minute was evidence of how much potential a dialed-in Pack defense has, it did little to cover up how bad they were all game. The one saving grace for the defense was that Wake Forest had an equally tough time containing the Pack offense, but if this team wants to win meaningful games this season, this defense can’t play like it did tonight.

Secondary

Hartman is a good quarterback, but allowing him to cook like he did on Saturday without interruption made him seem better than he actually was. Allowing 23 completions on 36 attempts for 236 yards and a touchdown doesn’t scream “bad performance” for the Pack secondary, but allowing four different receivers to have three receptions and 30 yards, including seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown to Jaquarii Roberson, shows how the defense allowed Hartman to have his choice of receiver to throw to. 

Sophomore safeties Rakeim Ashford and Jakeen Harris had busy days as a result, racking up 18 combined tackles after pursuing Wake Forest wide receivers all night. Though Ashford did come in to break up the final pass attempt by Hartman, there isn’t a whole lot to say about the performance of this secondary because, for most of this game, they failed to show up. Sam Howell and D’Eriq King might have NC State circled on their calendar if the secondary continues to play like they did.

Grade: F

Linebackers

The Wolfpack linebackers were all over the field against Wake Forest, but aside from doing a little bit of cardio, they did little else worthwhile on the field. Sure the counting stats are great, sophomore Drake Thomas had 12 tackles and a sack against the Demon Deacons and redshirt sophomore Payton Wilson chipped in with 10 tackles and a sack, but those tackles only came after long runs by the Demon Deacon running backs. 

In total, the Demon Deacons ran for 197 yards, 149 net and four touchdowns on 49 carries, the bulk of which went to Kenneth Walker III, who scorched NC State linebackers to the tune of 131 yards and three touchdowns. Maybe Hartman having a big night was foreseeable but allowing the Deacs’ rushing attack to run roughshod is inexcusable. 

Grade: D-

Defensive line

For the vast majority of this game, the pass rush for the Wolfpack was largely silent and in danger of playing just as poorly as the secondary and linebackers. That late defensive pressure on Hartman on the final drive wasn’t there the whole night, but it did show up when NC State needed it most. While it was just one defensive sequence, since it was the last drive for Wake Forest and weighted more heavily, the effort they gave in the last minute of their game vastly improved their overall performance for the game. 

Graduate transfer Daniel Joseph’s sack of Hartman near the end of the game left the Demon Deacon offense with no hope for a regulation win and set up Ashford’s pass break up on the final play. That being said, it would’ve been nice to see some of that inspired play throughout the game and because it wasn’t there, the defensive line just didn’t have the complete body of work to prove they played well against Wake Forest.

Grade: C-