The NC State football team is coming off of the bye week having to face the No. 3 team in the country, the Clemson Tigers. These two titans of the ACC will face off on Saturday. The Pack defense matches up well with the Tigers offense for the most part, but here is an in-depth look at how the units compare.
Secondary versus Quarterback
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and the Wolfpack defense must shut him down quickly and effectively if they want to have any hopes of winning. Lawrence has 11 touchdowns to only two interceptions for 868 yards, and 69 percent completion, showing his high efficiency. A strong Pack secondary will have every opportunity to stop the electric Tigers quarterback, with redshirt junior safety Jarius Morehead and junior cornerback Nick McCloud leading the way.
Joining Morehead and McCloud are dynamic freshman corner Tanner Ingle and junior corner Chris Ingram, as well as equally strong safeties junior Tim Kidd-Glass and redshirt senior Dexter Wright. This entire crew has amassed four interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown, along with nine pass deflections. To say the least, this shows that the secondary will challenge Lawrence.
Secondary versus Wide Receivers
The same aforementioned secondary will face off with the Tigers dominant receiving core led by Hunter Renfrow, Amari Rodgers and Tee Higgins. This trio has five touchdowns between them with 755 yards through six games.
“He’s a clutch player, makes a lot of plays for them on third down and in the red zone” Coach Doeren said of Renfrow. “Stopping Renfrow, and the entire receiving core on third down will be crucial to keeping the game evenly paced.”
The starters for the Pack secondary all have at least one pass broken up, with the team averaging 1.8 per game, which shows the Pack keeps its coverage close and effective. This crew will certainly pose challenges for the Pack secondary, much like Lawrence himself, but if the secondary can keep its coverage tight and not let the receivers get off to a hot start, it should help secure a win.
Linebackers versus Running Backs
Running back Travis Etienne is one of the best running backs in college football. Etienne has 761 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns this season and is one of the focal points of this Tigers offense. Etienne has at least one touchdown in every game this season and is averaging an absurd 9.2 yards per carry and 4.6 yards per reception. Etienne has broken school records, such as most rushing yards in a four-game span that was previously held by Woodrow Dantzler in 2000. In games Etienne has at least one touchdown in the first half, the Tigers have won by a combined 225-61. Their closest of such games was against Syracuse, in which the Tigers won 27-23.
Stopping Etienne early and efficiently will be the key to winning this game. The man the Pack will need to call on is superstar graduate linebacker Germaine Pratt. Normally, the defensive line would stop running backs, but there is no guarantee of this due to Etienne’s explosiveness, so the linebacker trio of Pratt, red-shirt freshman Isaiah Moore and sophomore Louis Acceus will be called upon to make tackles and take names. This trio has a combined 38 solo tackles, with Pratt accounting for 25, or 66 percent of them.
Defensive Line versus Offensive Line
The Clemson offensive line has only allowed four sacks on Lawrence this year, which looks good at first, but they allowed four on former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant, and a total of 27 sacks last year. The offensive line of Clemson looks almost identical to last year’s squad and has shown some improvement from the 27 sacks they allowed last year, as they are on pace to allow only 13.7 in the regular season. Returning starting left tackle Mitch Hyatt is arguably their best O-lineman, but their other pieces are a mixed bag. Center Justin Falcinelli has a tendency to misnap the ball, tackle turned right guard Sean Pollard is playing better since he moved inside and right tackle Tremayne Anchrum and left guard John Simpson are new starters despite being in the system previously.
The offensive line is arguably the weakest unit of the Tigers offense, but should certainly not be slept on, because if they can create lanes for Etienne, they can be unstoppable. On the other hand, if the Pack’s strong defensive line starters of redshirt junior James Smith-Williams, senior Darian Roseboro, redshirt junior Larrell Murchison and senior Eurndraus Bryant, who have a combined sack total of 6.5 sacks this season, can sustain pressure on Lawrence, this will be a very winnable game.
Defensive Line and Linebackers versus Tight Ends
Like the Pack, the Tigers primarily use their tight ends as blockers, but are also willing to use their tight ends if they need them in short yardage situations, as well as to get the extra first down. Tight ends graduate Milan Richard and freshman Braden Galloway have a combined 79 yards and a touchdown, and almost average a first down per reception, at 9.9 yards per reception. If the Pack can keep the tight ends covered nicely, it will see no problems from this area. The Pack will also need to get through them when they help bolster the Clemson O-line.
Matchup to Watch
Pratt versus Etienne. Both of these guys believe they are the best players on their respective crews, and maybe even teams as a whole. Watching to see if Pratt can stop Etienne, or if Etienne can outmaneuver Pratt, will be the most entertaining matchup of the game.
Defensive MVP
Pratt again. Pratt is the leading tackler for the team, the best linebacker in the country last week per Pro Football Focus with a grade of 91.9 and is coming off of a nod to the ACC Player of the Week honors. If Pratt can make a statement in this game as well, he will be without a doubt, the defensive MVP this week.
