NC State football won its final regular season game of the year in satisfying fashion against the rival Tar Heels, 30-27. The offense was able to produce when needed with redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Finley under center in his first start of the year. So without further ado, here’s a final analysis of the Wolfpack offense for the 2022 regular season.
Quarterbacks
There was immense pressure on Finley in this game. In what will likely go down as a lost season due to an accumulation of injuries across the team, there was still something salvaged out of this rivalry showdown. Finley is well aware of the rivalry given that his brother Ryan Finley also quarterbacked the Wolfpack offense, and the younger Finley brother was able to deliver in the biggest game of his career so far.
Finley began the season buried in the depth chart behind three other NC State quarterbacks. Most fourth string quarterbacks aren’t going to come in and put up good numbers, let alone win games, but Finley delivered in this one after having a tough outing as a backup against Louisville. Finley shook off the loss against the Cardinals and posted an impressive 271 yards with two touchdown passes and 140.9 passer rating against UNC-Chapel Hill.
Grade: A
Running Backs
Freshman running back Michael Allen has come on strong in the second half of this season. With sophomore running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye coming in and out of the lineup due to injuries, Allen has stepped up as a short yardage back who can pound it up the middle. Allen and junior running back Jordan Houston combined for 83 total yards on the ground. Furthermore, the two backs were limited as Finley threw 40 passes against North Carolina in order to match the talent of UNC quarterback Drake Maye and the production of the Tar Heel offense.
The lone rushing touchdown scored in this game didn’t come from either back, but instead came from graduate quarterback Jack Chambers, as he was brought in on goal line formations due to his rushing ability. While the running backs were efficient enough to pick up a few first downs for the Pack, they didn’t impact the game on the same level as the passing attack and defense did.
Grade: C
Pass Catchers
Graduate receiver Thayer Thomas has been the number one receiver for all of the NC State quarterbacks this year, but Finley decided to change it up. His go-to guy was redshirt junior receiver Devin Carter, who had one of his best games of the season with six catches for 130 yards and a score. He’s proven to be a deep threat as well as someone who can rise up and grab 50/50 balls at 6 feet, 3 inches and 215 pounds.
Carter’s highlight of the night was a back-shoulder catch from Finley, where Carter boxed out his defender, catching the pass and backing into the endzone to put the Wolfpack up by seven points with 3:54 left to play in regulation. In addition to Carter’s outstanding performance, freshman receiver Terrell Timmons Jr. ran free in the second quarter to catch the first of Finley’s two touchdowns.
Grade: A-
Offensive line
Given that NC State was without its starting center, the offensive line kept a relatively clean pocket for Finley. The offense stalled out after the second touchdown, with the red-and-white failing to sustain scoring drives due to a stagnant run game. Scoring production wouldn’t pick up until Finley was able to activate his clutch gene, along with graduate kicker Christopher Dunn, in the fourth quarter and in both overtime periods to lead the Pack to victory.
Grade: B
