The chances of attaining bowl eligibility took a big hit Saturday as the NC State football team lost to Miami, 27-13, in Carter-Finley Stadium. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from yet another tough loss for the team.
Good
Dayes gets 1,000
The offense struggled throughout the day, but buried in the rubble was a huge milestone for the senior running back in the last home game of his collegiate career. He finished with 20 carries for 76 yards and the Pack’s lone touchdown, getting him to 1,015 rushing yards on the season, making him the first Wolfpack running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since T.A. McClendon in 2002.
Dayes was on pace to shatter the milestone last season with over 850 yards through eight games before suffering a season-ending foot injury. With a younger offensive line, new offensive coordinator and a more difficult nonconference slate, it took him longer to hit quadruple digits than it would have last year, but it was still a big accomplishment for one of the best running backs in NC State history.
First-half defense
It was a tale of two halves with this unit in particular, as the Wolfpack defense held Miami to just three points in the first half. The defensive line proved that it was one of the most dominant units in the conference, holding the Hurricanes to just 22 rushing yards and putting constant pressure on junior Brad Kaaya, sacking him twice.
The Pack also forced Miami to punt four times and did everything it could to keep the team in the game. The one area it struggled was against the pass, as Kaaya picked it apart primarily through slant routes to freshman Ahmmon Richards, who had seven catches for 96 yards in the first half alone.
Bad
Second-half defense
Contrary to the first half, the defense allowed 24 points in the second half, all but dooming NC State as the offense continued to sputter. Additionally, Miami sophomore running back Mark Walton went off, finishing the game with 19 carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns after garnering just eight carries for 18 yards in the first half.
Coming into the game, the Wolfpack boasted the fifth-best run defense in the FBS, but allowed Walton to run all over it in the second half, as he was the X factor in the Hurricanes pulling away and winning the game. The defense is used to allowing opposing quarterbacks to pass for over 250 yards as it did with Kaaya, but Walton was the first player to singlehandedly rush for over 100 yards against this defense all season.
Passing offense
Redshirt sophomore Ryan Finley and his receivers particularly struggled in the first half, as he completed just 9 of 22 passes for 73 yards. Additionally, his receivers dropped at least four passes in the first half alone and added a couple in the second half.
His receivers picked up some of the slack in the second half in helping Finley get over 200 yards passing, but he failed to cross the 50 percent threshold, completing just 20 of 44 pass attempts on the day. He added a costly interception in the end zone, and he has now thrown three picks in the end zone this season, with this one being the first of which that wasn’t on the team’s last drive of the game.
While Jacoby Brissett was by no means a superstar, he was still an above average quarterback at the collegiate level and the team certainly misses him.
Ugly
Missed opportunities
If you had to pick two words to sum up NC State’s 2016 season, “missed opportunities” are the first that come to mind. This game had several of them, including Finley’s aforementioned pick in the end zone that, at the very least, took three points off the board (pending the short field goal, of course, which hasn’t been a given this season).
The first miss was a dropped touchdown pass by redshirt sophomore Stephen Louis that slipped right down his chest, his second drop on that drive alone. This forced the Pack to settle for a short field goal.
Another costly mistake was a clipping penalty the brought back what would have been Dayes’ second touchdown run of the day. It also would’ve been a 20-17 game, but instead, the Wolfpack once again settled for a field goal. Earlier that drive Finley missed a wide-open junior Jaylen Samuels that would’ve put a touchdown on the board and not eaten away as much clock.
This is the sixth time in seven games that the Pack failed to score more than two touchdowns in a contest this season. Of those six games, the team is 1-5, with the lone win coming in the infamous Hurricane Matthew game against Notre Dame.
One last chance
The Wolfpack heads into its regularly scheduled season finale against No. 25 UNC-Chapel Hill on Black Friday, this one taking place on the road this year. A poorly scheduled game will help take the hostility out of the game, as there likely won’t be very many people in the stands, but the Tar Heels will not be easy to beat, especially given head coach Dave Doeren’s record against ranked opponents.
Anyway, with the Pack sitting at 5-6 (2-5 ACC), it needs one more win to earn bowl eligibility. With the team blowing an opportunity against Miami Saturday, and being upset by lowly Boston College earlier this season, it will have to upset its long-time rival on the road if it wants to advance into postseason play.
