Well, that was ugly. The NC State football team was throttled by Louisville, 54-13, over the weekend and the inevitable downward spiral for the team has begun. How far the spiral will last will determine how well this season ends up being looked at for head coach Dave Doeren and company. With the Wolfpack sitting at 4-3 (1-2 ACC), here’s what we learned after the team was beat down on the road.
1. This doesn’t mean the team is bad
College football is much more conducive to high-powered offenses that can light up scoreboards than the NFL is, and the result is teams like Louisville. The Cardinals have a prolific offense that entered averaging 52.3 points per game. The Cardinals also have star quarterback sophomore Lamar Jackson, who had thrown for nearly as many touchdowns in the first half of the first game as Wolfpack redshirt sophomore Ryan Finley had thrown all season.
The Cardinals are on another level and with the Wolfpack having to play back to back top-10 teams on the road, this was a very predictable result. Losing to Louisville does not make this team is bad or this defense is bad, it just simply wasn’t a fair fight.
2. The season restarts against Boston College
Now that the death gauntlet of Clemson and Louisville is over, we can get back to games that the Wolfpack actually has a chance to win. The Wolfpack opens the week as a 15.5 point favorite and there really is no excuse for the team to lose this game against the Eagles. Boston College has lost 12 straight conference games and has not won a conference game since Nov. 29, 2014. This is the list of teams Boston College has beaten in the last two years: Maine, Northern Illinois, Howard, UMass, Wagner and Buffalo. The Wolfpack needs to care of business on Saturday.
3. Ryan Finley struggles
A lot has been made of the quarterback situation with Finley taking of the position from Jacoby Brissett. Finley has played well in a game manager role this season, but against Louisville he was not sharp. Finley was 16 for 31 for 236 yards and touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions, including one on the Wolfpack’s first offensive possession. Finley has not displayed the ability to push the ball vertically down the field and looked seriously rattled on the road in Louisville. The defense carried him against Clemson, and playmakers like senior running back Matt Dayes and junior tight end Jaylen Samuels have been a crutch for Finley to lean on. If the team wants to take the next step and start competing for ACC titles, it will need to have Finley take the next step and improve as a passer.
4. Injuries
The Wolfpack lost senior linebacker Dravious Wright to injury, but he returned later in the game. Dayes left the game against Louisville and was held out for the rest of the action as a precautionary measure since the team was losing so badly. It appears Dayes will be just fine.
5. No changes in the kicking game
With the struggles that sophomore Kyle Bambard has endured, it would’ve been reasonable for the Wolfpack to try something new against the Cardinals. Instead, Bambard came on for both extra points and proceeded to miss one of the kicks. The miss was not his fault, as sophomore A.J. Cole mishandled the snap, but the unit struggled again. It would’ve been interesting to see a field goal attempt to see how Bambard’s confidence stands. Instead we’ll wait until Boston College, where there will likely be too many opportunities for a Wolfpack fan to live through.
