NC State will need as much help from its defense as it can get on Thursday when Wake Forest visits Raleigh for what will surely be a packed Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Demon Deacons (4-5, 1-4 ACC) have put up some incredible offensive numbers this season, ranking 30th in Division I FBS in yards per game at 453.4 and 39th in points per game at 32.3. These stats are only 3.6 yards per game and 0.2 points per game behind the Pack (6-2, 3-2 ACC) this season.
However, Wake Forest is giving up 39.4 points per game, ranked at 119th in the country. Both the Pack and the Deacons are ranked in the bottom 15 teams in passing yards given up per game, setting up Thursday to be a shootout.
Like the Syracuse game, it could come down to which defense is able to hold the opposing offense to the most redzone field goals.
The biggest problem with the Pack defense resides in the secondary that gives up 306.4 passing yards per game, which is second last in all of FBS. Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman has an opportunity for a massive game, averaging 220.4 passing yards per contest, just below Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey who torched the Pack secondary for 411 yards and three touchdowns in a 51-41 loss.
The Demon Deacons hold their strength in the running game, averaging 224.4 yards per game. Graduate linebacker Germain Pratt and the front seven will have their hands full stopping the run game, but that has been the Pack’s defensive strength this season.
NC State will likely stuff the box to stop the run and make Wake Forest beat the Pack in the air, which has been the strategy for most of the year. In both the Pack’s losses, the opposing quarterbacks won through the air, making it entirely possible for the Demon Deacons to do the same thing.
With Louisville and UNC-Chapel Hill left on the schedule, Wake Forest should be the best team NC State has yet to face, but the atmosphere at Carter-Finley Stadium should award NC State with a Thursday night victory. In last season’s Thursday night game, NC State beat Louisville with Lamar Jackson behind center in front of an electric blackout crowd.
