The NC State football team now sits at .500 after losing its third-straight game, this coming at the hands of conference bottom-feeder Boston College. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Pack’s fourth loss of the year.
Good
Young receivers
Freshman Kelvin Harmon in particular was absolutely spectacular. He ended with five catches for 80 yards and an incredible touchdown catch. He has shown flashes of playmaking ability all year, and he could be a really special player for the team if he continues to improve past his true freshman season.
Dynamic sophomore Nyheim Hines also had a respectable outing, ending with six catches for 62 yards. On NC State’s last drive of the game, Hines had a 56-yard kick return and a 32-yard catch to put the Wolfpack in great scoring position, only to have redshirt sophomore Ryan Finley throw an interception in the end zone. Redshirt sophomore Stephen Louis also made a few good plays, but they were called back by penalties.
Red zone defense
Other than a trick play late in the fourth quarter that ultimately cost the Pack the game, the defense did its job for the majority of the contest. Boston College got into the red zone three times, but was held to a field goal twice. Additionally, junior Justin Jones blocked a field goal just outside the red zone near the end of the first half.
Bad
Running game
The Wolfpack ended the first half with -14 yards rushing as Boston College dominated the trenches and time of possession. Senior Matt Dayes, one of the best running backs in the ACC, had -7 yards in the first half and ended the game with just 45 rushing yards, his second lowest total of the year as the Eagles proved that they were one of the top defenses in the conference.
Lack of Jaylen Samuels
Meanwhile, junior tight end Jaylen Samuels only had one touch on three total targets the whole game. For the second time in three games, he didn’t garner a carry on one of his signature jet sweeps and only had one catch for eight yards. He is easily one of the most dynamic players on offense and simply needs to be more involved in the offense to help the team succeed.
Fourth-down conversions
With the offense struggling most of the game, the Pack decided to go for it on fourth down three times, but it failed on each attempt. While I like the aggressive play calling and thought it was necessary close to midfield, the plays weren’t executed properly, as Finley was sacked on one play and threw it into the dirt on the other two. Finley has had trouble in clutch moments this season as well, struggling on these fourth down conversions and throwing a pick in the end zone on the last drive of the game against both Clemson and Boston College.
Ugly
This loss was against Boston College
The last two Wolfpack losses were pretty much expected, as Clemson and Louisville are both very good teams that currently rank in the top five in the nation. Boston College, however, is a different story.
Although this had trap game written all over it, the Eagles lost 12-straight ACC games coming into this one, with the last conference victory ironically coming against Syracuse two years ago. To put that into perspective, no team in the ACC had lost 12-straight conference games since NC State did it under yours truly, Dave Doeren, in 2013-14.
To put some more perspective into this, here are the teams Boston College beat since its last ACC win: Buffalo, Wagner, Massachusetts, Maine, Howard and Northern Illinois. No household names there (unless you count Howard, which might be your brother’s name). This should’ve been a bounce-back game for NC State after a rough few weeks, but instead, its chances at a bowl game are now in jeopardy.
Penalties
Eight penalties for 94 yards is bad, but not as ugly as the 13 penalties for 120 yards the team committed against Clemson. What was particularly costly about these penalties was the timing of them. The first example was a kick-catch interference penalty in the first quarter. Although the defender didn’t touch the returner, he didn’t allow the one-yard cushion, resulting in a 16-yard penalty. NC State had been winning the field position battle up to this point, but this gave BC some breathing room to march down the field and kick a field goal.
Next, in the third quarter, Finley completed a pass to Louis on third down that would’ve put the Pack close to field goal range. However, it was called back on a holding penalty, and Finley was strip-sacked on the next play that the Eagles capitalized off of with another field goal.
The final and most costly example came on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Finley to Louis. This would’ve given NC State a 21-13 lead in the fourth quarter, but was called back on an ineligible receiver downfield penalty. All three of these penalties either helped the Eagles put points on the board or took points away from the Wolfpack in a low-scoring game where every point counted.
Silver Lining
There really isn’t much of one. This was supposed to be an easy game that would help the team earn bowl eligibility, but the Pack simply blew it. If it wants a shot at a bowl game, it will have to beat Syracuse, who it might not be favored over anymore, and upset either No. 19 Florida State, Miami or No. 18 UNC-Chapel Hill, none of which will be an easy task.
