Sophomore place kicker Kyle Bambard lines up to kick a 43-yard field goal during the first drive of the day but bounced the kick off the right upright. Bambard had a rough day kicking, missing three, two to the right and one blocked. The Wolfpack's missed 33-yard field goal could have sealed the deal, but Clemson took the lead in overtime to win 24-17 at Death Valley in Clemson, South Carolina on Saturday." />
Nick Faulkner
Sophomore place kicker Kyle Bambard lines up to kick a 43-yard field goal during the first drive of the day but bounced the kick off the right upright. Bambard had a rough day kicking, missing three, two to the right and one blocked. The Wolfpack's missed 33-yard field goal could have sealed the deal, but Clemson took the lead in overtime to win 24-17 at Death Valley in Clemson, South Carolina on Saturday.
The NC State football team suffered a heartbreaking 24-17 overtime loss in Death Valley against No. 3 Clemson. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Wolfpack’s first conference loss of the season.
Good
Matt Dayes and Jaylen Samuels
Regardless of the opponent or outcome of the game, these two have always been reliable this season. Dayes once again thrived in the running game, totaling 106 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries en route to his fifth 100-yard game of the season — out of six games.
Meanwhile, Samuels quietly tallied a career-high eight catches for 100 yards. For the first time this season, he didn’t record a rush, but he provided a spark in an otherwise dismal passing game.
Run defense
Clemson running back Wayne Gallman left the game early in the first quarter with a concussion, so that limited its run game, but NC State did a good job of limiting everyone else. The Tigers totaled 117 yards while averaging just 3 yards per carry. Additionally, NC State’s defense forced three fumbles and made Clemson rely on the pass to win.
The biggest moment in which the Wolfpack run defense was apparent was in the second quarter when the Tigers had four downs to score from inside the 6-yard line. The Pack kept them out of the end zone on all four downs, ending with junior B.J. Hill disrupting the play and stopping quarterback Deshaun Watson at the line of scrimmage to force a turnover on downs.
The Pack kept it close
The Tigers were 18-point favorites coming into the contest, an astounding margin that should’ve resulted in a blowout. Against the odds, NC State never trailed by more than a touchdown, with the defense keeping it in the game as it forced four turnovers. Additionally, it gained almost 400 yards against a respectable Tiger defense. The Wolfpack also held Clemson to 24 points after allowing a combined 107 in the previous two matchups.
Bad
Passing offense
Redshirt sophomore Ryan Finley had a lot to prove against Clemson, as he was touted as one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the ACC coming into the game against one of the top defenses of the nation. However, he struggled, throwing for 231 yards and two interceptions while completing just 50 percent of his passes.
He missed open receivers on a handful of plays, most costly on the final play of the game, when he threw it behind senior Bra’Lon Cherry for the game-sealing interception. Despite the rough outing, he’ll get another chance next week against Louisville to try and prove this game was an outlier, and he can perform at his best against top-level competition.
Penalties
In the first quarter alone, the Wolfpack committed eight penalties that cost it 76 yards, five of which being on the offensive side of the ball. These dissipated as the game went on as the Pack became more disciplined, ending with 13 penalties for 120 yards. However, these are still atrocious numbers, as the team drove into the red zone on its first two drives but were driven out by penalties, costing it two potential touchdowns.
Pass defense
With Gallman injured, the Tigers were forced to turn to the passing game — and had great success. Typically, forcing 13 incompletions would look respectable, but Watson threw 52 total passes for a completion rate of 75 percent. He ended the day with 378 passing yards, by far his largest output of the season.
Redshirt junior Mike Williams gave the defense fits, as he led the way with 12 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. Williams wasn’t the only problem for the Pack, however, as three other receivers registered at least five catches for over 50 yards and 10 players caught a pass for Clemson.
Ugly
Field goals
This was obvious, as the Pack is still suffering from the hangover of losing all-time leading scoring Niklas Sadie to graduation two years ago. Sophomore Kyle Bambard went 1 for 4 on the day, including missing what would have been the game-winning 33-yard field goal as time expired to eventually lose in overtime.
Yes, one of the field goals was blocked and there’s not a ton Bambard can do about that, but his other two misses came from 33 and 43 yards, both makeable field goals at any level of play. Bambard came into the Clemson game 4 of 5 on the season, with his only miss being in a hurricane, and seemed to have improved from last year’s struggles. However, that simply wasn’t the case, as his struggles resurfaced in the biggest game of the year.
Ability to capitalize off turnovers
As ugly as the kicking game was, perhaps that wouldn’t have mattered if the offense had simply capitalized off the turnovers that the defense forced. Of Clemson’s four turnovers, NC State registered seven points off of them, all of which came from junior Mike Steven’s pick-six. That means the offense scored zero points off the other three turnovers.
Even against Clemson’s stellar defense, this is unacceptable, especially considering the Pack either started or got to Tiger territory on two of those three drives. At points, it seemed like Clemson was trying to lose the game, practically spoon feeding opportunities to the Wolfpack that simply didn’t take the bait.
Silver Lining
NC State proved it could compete with one of the top-ranked teams in the nation in going into overtime against Clemson. Whether it can repeat this performance against No. 7 Louisville remains to be seen, as it faces an arguably more dynamic talent in Heisman candidate Lamar Jackson.