It’s time to call the Robert Anae experiment at NC State a massive failure.
The 65-year-old offensive coordinator is in the midst of his second season at NC State and the offense looks the most inconsistent it has in years. Anae was given the position after former Wolfpack offensive coordinator Tim Beck took the head coaching position at Coastal Carolina.
The hope was that the former Virginia offensive coordinator would continue his chemistry with then-incoming Virginia transfer quarterback Brennan Armstrong. Anae and Armstrong led an offensive unit that ranked third in the FBS in total offense in 2021. That 2021 Virginia squad was one of five programs in the FBS to average over 500 yards of total offense.
However, things went quite the opposite — Armstrong played so poorly that he was benched for then-sophomore quarterback MJ Morris. Armstrong eventually returned after MJ Morris redshirted and NC State finished the season with a 9-3 record thanks to its defense.
Nonetheless, NC State loaded up its offense with the most talent it had seen in years. Hyped up to be one of the top teams in the conference, the Wolfpack offense has floundered since week one and has quickly turned into one of the biggest liabilities on the team.
Everyone is welcome to their own opinions on the condition of NC State’s offense under Anae. However, the numbers don’t lie. Here are some alarming statistics behind NC State’s offensive performance.
205 yards less than his 2023 campaign
Sophomore wide receiver KC Concepcion won the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year for a reason. He ranked 10th in the entire ACC in all-purpose yards as a freshman. 247 Sports ranked Concepcion as the eighth-best wide receiver in the nation before the season started as most projected a huge sophomore season, due in large part to graduate quarterback Grayson McCall.
However, through his first eight games of the season, Concepcion has over 200 fewer yards than the first eight games of his freshman campaign, with 583 total yards in 2023 and just 378 total yards in 2024. Yes, McCall only played two full games, but Concepcion dealt with quarterback turmoil last year, so what is the difference-maker?
The answer is the playcalling. All too often, Concepcion has been the target of a screen multiple yards behind the line of scrimmage. It’s understandable to want to get the ball to your best target, but running screens over and over again is not the answer. You have to let your best weapon run downfield and do what he does best — create separation.
A key example is the Wake Forest game. Concepcion’s first three catches against Wake Forest went for an astonishing negative-six yards. The rest of the NC State receiving corps is talented, but using your star receiver as a dump-off pass is the last thing you want in an offense.
Concepcion hauled in nine catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns in the first game of the season but hasn’t come anywhere close to those numbers in the seven games since — he’s recorded over 50 yards just twice. The situation is so dire that junior tight end Justin Joly has 82 more receiving yards with 17 fewer catches. There is no excuse for Anae to continue to run multiple screen plays week after week when they clearly don’t work. Trust your players to make a play downfield, not behind the line of scrimmage.
14th in the ACC in points per game
Of the 17 teams in the ACC, Anae’s offense sits at just 14th in the conference, averaging 26 points per game. For an offense that’s faced an FCS team, three teams in the Group of Five and two below-average defenses in the ACC, there is shockingly little to show for it.
The offense was hyped up to be one of the best units in the conference, but sputtered out before the season fully began. The all-graduate offensive line struggles to block on a consistent basis. The running back room is statistically one of the worst in the conference. McCall’s injury and subsequent retirement threw a wrench in the passing game.
However, the talent is still there. Fans have seen glimpses of freshman quarterback CJ Bailey’s potential. Concepcion and Joly need no introduction. Redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers had a career game in California. All of the pieces necessary for a successful offense are there, but the scheme simply doesn’t work.
96th in the nation in third-down conversion rate
The Wolfpack has just a 35.71 third down conversion percentage in 2024. There are 68 schools in Power Four conferences, meaning that NC State’s third down conversion rate is so bad that it is outclassed by multiple Group of Five teams.
The Pack finds itself in third-and-long situations all too often as a result of the poor playcalling on earlier downs. Its third down playcalling is even worse. Multiple times, NC State has run a designated quarterback draw that almost never works. It seems as if the Pack is scared to open up the playbook. Redshirt junior punter Caden Noonkester is called on multiple times a game to bail the offense out when it inevitably goes three-and-out.
NC State’s confusing playcalling has killed it for two years. There is no reason for Concepcion to be lining up consistently in the backfield when young talent like Smothers and sophomore running back Kendrick Raphael have proven time and time again that they can get the job done. Another key example comes from the 2023 campaign when Anae had Armstrong line up as a running back on multiple occasions.
For a school that was hyped up to be an offensive juggernaut in the preseason, there are zero results. Talent is being wasted every year as NC State continues to slide down the ACC rankings. Something about the offense needs to change, and all signs point to one man.
