Lily McCabe
Sophomore forward Donovan Phillip waits for play to resume during the match against UNC-Chapel Hill at Dorrance Field on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. NC State lost 2-0 to UNC-Chapel Hill.
Every game at NC State produces new narratives that mold the foundation of programs, for better or worse. Is it too early to reach a verdict, or is it time to panic? Let’s judge some of the biggest overreactions for the Wolfpack this fall, starting with a weekend in California.
“Traveling to the West Coast in a new-look ACC will take a bigger toll than expected.”
A new era of college sports has produced an unprecedented overhaul to conference alignment, including adding three teams to the ACC: Southern Methodist University, the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University. Two of those, Cal and Stanford, left the PAC-12 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, a move that raised eyebrows considering the geography of the rest of the league.
With conference play beginning across fall sports, this is the first look at the minutiae of the ACC’s future. NC State athletics took its first trip to California this weekend with volleyball and men’s soccer facing the Cardinal on Friday night.
Neither group pulled out a win, but considering the No. 5 national volleyball ranking and the No. 2 national men’s soccer ranking that Stanford’s respective teams hold, the Wolfpack held its own.
However, the trek seemed to affect both the fatigue and concentration of both squads as each made uncharacteristic mistakes and miscues. Men’s soccer took just one shot on target in 90 minutes — an outlier performance for a team averaging 6.6 per game entering the contest.
Volleyball averaged 5.86 errors per set in two games against Stanford and Cal after averaging 4.65 entering the weekend, including 23 in a straight-sets loss on Sunday to the Golden Bears. Additionally, it suffered a fourth set collapse in Friday’s match in which the Cardinal held the Wolfpack to a season-worst eight-point set after an otherwise closely contested match.
Before traveling to California, the furthest road trip for the men’s soccer team was 239 miles to Harrisonburg, Virginia against James Madison. For volleyball, it was 1,230 miles for a week-long season-opening tournament in Omaha, Nebraska.
For Friday’s games, the teams had to travel 2,828 miles for a regular season matchup. Even for professionals that’s a long way, but these are college students balancing sports with a full-time academic and social life.
Both squads came in with winning records and at least four days between games, yet both looked sluggish and abnormally sloppy, so is travel the culprit? This is the first sample of a new format in the conference, so it will be interesting to keep an eye on, but for now, it’s hard to argue against the talent or preparedness of the Wolfpack after great starts to its seasons.
Conclusion: Not an overreaction.
“Kevin Concepcion is the key to unlocking NC State’s offense.”
Sophomore receiver Kevin “KC” Concepcion is the reigning ACC rookie of the year following a superb freshman campaign where he caught 71 passes for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns. KC proved early on that center stage in offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s scheme is where he belongs.
No other pass-catcher had more than 30 receptions, more than 250 yards or more than three touchdowns on the year. Concepcion was also the team’s second-leading rusher in his dual-threat role, gaining more yards than every running back on the roster. A stellar rookie year earned him a spot on the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List, which is given to the top receiver in the country.
The Charlotte, North Carolina native is tied for the most catches among all receivers in the ACC but is only averaging 7.2 yards per catch, down from 11.8 last season. With or without graduate quarterback Grayson McCall, the offense cannot find Concepcion down the field.
Anae force-fed the sophomore star in the first half against Wake Forest with three carries and six targets around the line of scrimmage to the avail of a porous 2.5 yards per touch. Concepcion had just two touches in the second half and finished with 38 yards. This comes off the heels of a five-yard performance against Northern Illinois.
Even so, the problem is not with KC. Opponents have shown no fear of any aspect of NC State’s offense with no running game to speak of — 14th in the ACC — and limited confidence in down-field throws with an 18-year-old under center. True freshman quarterback CJ Bailey came in the game Saturday after an injury to McCall and finished with just two completions further than 15 air yards.
On a positive note, Anae’s squad showed promising progression, converting 8/15 third downs, a huge difference from going 1/11 last week. The Wolfpack also dominated possession as it had the ball for 35 minutes and 52 seconds.
The intermediate game worked for most of the game, converting those third downs and keeping the clock moving, but when the Wolfpack’s fourth-quarter breakdown forced Bailey to push the ball downfield, the Demon Deacons played back and made the final play. With Bailey presumptively taking the starting job for the rest of the season, the offense needs to manufacture another element of its game before KC can reach his potential as a top player in the country.
Conclusion: Overreaction.
“Cross-country is still the darling of NC State fall sports.”
October is the time for conclusions to be drawn as to how a team’s season is turning out. If you ask the 2023 men’s basketball team, it would say, ‘It ain’t over until it’s over.’ Nonetheless, most narratives are written in the first couple of chapters, and entering the back half of the fall season, it is easier to separate the good from the great. With football sitting at 3-3, women’s soccer at 3-8-2, men’s soccer at 5-2-3 and volleyball at 7-5, there is but one team that holds fall’s crown: cross country.
The reigning national champions, NC State’s women’s cross country dominated its opening event at the Adidas XC Challenge, winning by 17 points over second-place Clemson. The Wolfpack defended its title and No. 1 ranking with flair, averaging the lowest time per runner and representing five of the top 11 finishers in the open 5k, including junior Grace Hartman who finished fourth with a career-best 16:25.9.
The Wolfpack men also ran well at the same event, finishing second to Liberty by just five points. Seniors Brett Gardner and Toby Gualter finished first and second in the open 6k, contributing to the best average time among all teams in attendance.
Today, none of NC State’s fall sports have more than two wins against conference opponents, and only men’s soccer and volleyball have even one. Though it may not be the most flashy or lucrative sport on campus, cross-country deserves its flowers.
Conclusion: Not an overreaction.