NC State football is back, and so far it’s undefeated. The Wolfpack’s thrilling 45-42 victory over Wake Forest left a lot to discuss, from specific players standing out to overall impressions. Here are some takeaways from the Wake Forest game:

Payton Wilson gives, and takes away

Redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson was everywhere for NC State on Saturday. He was tied for second on the team with 10 tackles, four of those for loss, which led the team. Wilson constantly stood out, whether it was stopping a potential punt-return touchdown or shooting into the backfield to stop a running back in his tracks, and he let his attitude show. 

That attitude was also evident as Wilson caught multiple 15-yard penalties, one for roughing the passer and another for unnecessary roughness after suplexing a player. Wilson doesn’t toe the line so much as he prefers to occasionally stomp all over it, but if he’s going to play as well as he did against Wake Forest, the good outweighs the bad.

Offensive line leading the way

Head coach Dave Doeren, redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman and junior running back Ricky Person Jr. all sang the praises of the offensive line after the game, and for good reason. Offensive line coach John Garrison was excited about his group going into the season and it showed why as NC State rushed for 270 yards. 

Go back and rewatch the biggest runs NC State broke last week and try to spot when the running back is first contacted. The offensive line, led by sophomore left guard Ikem Ekwonu and graduate left tackle Tyrone Riley, opened holes wide enough to drive a truck through, and while Wake Forest doesn’t field the toughest front in the ACC, it’s no slouch. This performance bodes well for the remainder of the season, and as long as the rushing attack is dangerous, it means less pressure on the starting quarterback.

Pressure huge with weak secondary

One of the biggest questions heading into this season was who could replace NC State’s ends, Larrell Murchison and James Smith-Williams, who are now in the NFL. On one side, Penn State graduate transfer Daniel Joseph separated himself. Joseph led the line with five tackles, led the team with two sacks and added a quarterback hurry to his stat line. 

Late in the game, Joseph and USC transfer Vi Jones came up clutch with back-to-back sacks on Wake Forest’s final drive as defensive coordinator Tony Gibson decided to heat up the offense rather than let Sam Hartman sit back and dissect the secondary. NC State struggled in coverage, and it’s obvious that the unit will be one of the weaker parts of the team, making it all the more important that the Wolfpack is able to live in the opposing quarterback’s lap. The receivers might be open but making the throw should be as difficult as possible.

Wide receivers still lacking a game-changer

NC State’s two leading receivers were actually redshirt senior tight ends Cary Angeline and Dylan Parham with 45 and 33 receiving yards, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Devin Carter led the wide receivers with just 30 yards, and while it’s nice that Hockman spread the ball around to nine different pass-catchers, it was also evident that none of the receivers the Wolfpack put on the field had enough speed to take the top off the defense.

Players on scholarship who weren’t on the active roster for Saturday include graduate wide receiver C.J. Riley and freshmen Anthony Smith and Chris Scott. All three are highly touted for their speed, but it remains to be seen if they’ll make an impact as speedsters on the field.

QB competition reignited

While Doeren repeatedly made it clear throughout camp that redshirt sophomore Devin Leary is NC State’s starter, he’s now won a game with Hockman, who looked impressive in whole despite some clear errors to clean up. Doeren described Leary as a victim of circumstance when explaining why Hockman got the start. Leary missed a large amount of time due to contact tracing, and that will be doubly true if Hockman doesn’t relinquish the reins now that he holds them. Doeren wouldn’t touch discussions of a QB controversy after the game, but he’ll have to decide whether to go with his starter or ride the hot hand.