More than halfway through the season, the Wolfpack sits two wins away from bowl eligibility. Looking ahead on the schedule, this weekend’s matchup against Boston College is an opportunity that NC State must take advantage of, or a bowl game would become a questionable proposition. The Eagles have lost 12 straight ACC conference games and the list of teams they’ve beaten is worse than Dave Doeren’s list. This is as close to a must-win game as you can get on the Wolfpack’s schedule.
The Eagles were a dominant defensive team last season and this year they are only slightly worse. Boston College ranks seventh in the nation in yards allowed per game, but that hasn’t equated to as much success in keeping teams off the scoreboard. The Eagles rank 45th in the nation, allowing 24.3 points per game.
Defensive Line
The strength of the Wolfpack defense had another strong game against Louisville, despite the team giving up 54 points. The Wolfpack sacked quarterback Lamar Jackson four times and had 7.5 tackles for loss. Freshman defensive end Tyrone Riley, who has good size at 6-foot-5, had five tackles over the weekend to add another player to the immense depth the Wolfpack has. Junior Bradley Chub now has six sacks and 11 tackles for loss this season.
Boston College has two seniors on its defensive line in Kevin Kavalec and Truman Gutapfel but junior defensive end Harold Landry is the heart of the defensive line. Landry has eight sacks this season and 10 tackles for loss. Boston College is 12th in sacks this season and should put pressure on Wolfpack redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Finley all game.
Advantage: NC State
Linebackers
Junior Dravious Wright was injured against Louisville but it is expected that he should play against Boston College. Wright has brought the boom for the Wolfpack defense, including a devastating hit on Clemson running back Wayne Gallman two weeks ago. Gallman responded this week by saying, “I wanted someone to hurt him.” Hopefully Wright will bring more big hits against Boston College.
Senior outside linebacker Matt Milano and junior linebacker Ty Schwab are studs at the linebacker position, having combined for 78 tackles this season. Junior middle linebacker Connor Strachan should be available for Boston College and the Eagles should be the better unit in regards to the linebacker position.
Advantage: Boston College
Secondary
The Wolfpack secondary was torched by Louisville to a tune of 390 passing yards and three touchdowns including a career long 74-yard pass from Jackson to wide receiver Jaylen Smith against senior nickel Niles Clark. The Eagles do not possess a strong passing game and could be playing with backup quarterback Darius Wade, so the secondary should be spared another rough day.
The Eagles rank 22nd in the nation in passing yards allowed but they are anything but ballhawks. The Eagles have only intercepted three passes this season, meaning Finley should be able to get back to his mistake-free game managing.
Advantage: NC State
Special Teams
The Wolfpack had another extra point blocked this weekend, adding to a season of misery on special teams. One thing we did learn is that the Wolfpack is sticking with sophomore Kyle Bambard as its kicker amidst all of his struggles. The special teams unit’s subpar play has overshadowed the great season that sophomore punter A.J. Cole III has had.
Junior kicker/punter Mike Knoll is a rock for the Boston College special teams, connecting on all five of his field goals and placing seven punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Senior running back Myles Willis has returned one kick for a touchdown and is a threat to do it again against the Wolfpack’s suspect coverage team.
Advantage: Boston College
