Nearly halfway through its season, NC State football failed to establish an identity in non-conference play. With most of its ACC schedule ahead, the Wolfpack has taken small steps to improve, but it has plenty of work ahead if it wants to navigate successfully through conference play.
If there’s been a theme this season for the Wolfpack, it is consistent inconsistency. In its wins over Western Carolina and Louisiana Tech, the Pack was all over the map, while it fell flat against Tennessee and Clemson. For one afternoon, NC State finally put together a consistent defensive performance — a return to what the Wolfpack has excelled at in past seasons.
“The guys responded and that’s all I could ask for,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “I told [the team] I want to win this game really bad, but I really want to see our identity. For one week I got to see it, but now it’s about being consistent.”
One constant for the Wolfpack was its ability to cause chaos. Forcing two fumbles, intercepting two passes and creating four sacks removed the threat of passing from the Huskies’ offense and made Northern Illinois one-dimensional. Additionally, the chaos scored a touchdown and set up a second by handing the red-and-white’s offense the ball at the goal line. In a rare turn of events, the defense proved to be NC State’s best offense, willing the Wolfpack to a win.
“Not giving up explosive plays, which we were able to do today, stopping the run, tackling, stripping the football, rushing the passer — it’s consistency,” Doeren said. “We played four quarters of really good defense today.”
Realistically, NC State won’t force four turnovers a game. However, what it can repeat is pressuring the quarterback — something the Pack struggled with in each of its first four games this season. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson dialed up an aggressive game plan that threw Northern Illinois’ passing attack into chaos. The result was four sacks, tying the team’s total sack count through its first four games.
In addition to an improved pass rush, the red-and-white’s run defense played its best against Northern Illinois. Facing one of the best running backs in the MAC, Antario Brown presented a challenge for the Pack. Brown racked up 114 yards, but it took him 28 carries to do so. There were certainly some explosive runs by Brown, showing NC State must continue to work on its tackling, but the Pack showed fight and disrupted several runs in the backfield for a season-high 12 tackles for loss.
“That’s a big thing we stand by here at NC State is playing tough football,” said redshirt junior linebacker Caden Fordham. “I felt like we came out and did that today, but got to continue to do so.”
Meanwhile on offense, NC State is going through the growing pains of playing a young quarterback. In his second career start, freshman quarterback CJ Bailey took care of the football, throwing no interceptions. However, Bailey also didn’t create many explosive plays or ignite a struggling offense.
“We’re playing a freshman quarterback, and we’re putting a lot on that kid’s shoulders,” Doeren said. “I’m proud of CJ for taking care of the football, but we have a lot of growth there.”
In particular, NC State found itself struggling on third downs. One of the worst third down offenses in the ACC, the Wolfpack is converting just 33.9% of its third down attempts — good for 14th in the conference. However, the percentage is a symptom of a bigger issue, which is the red-and-white’s constant struggle to move the ball on early downs.
“You’ve got to get into manageable third downs,” Doeren said. “Being in third-and-8, third-and-9 is not good. Percentage wise you’re not going to succeed a lot in that down and distance, and that’s your first and second down offense that you’re talking about more than your third down.”
Entering a stretch of seven ACC games, the Wolfpack is at a crossroads. Through five games, the season has clearly been underwhelming. However, there’s still seven games on the schedule against conference foes, including a rivalry game with Wake Forest in its next game. A gritty defensive win over Northern Illinois was a step in the right direction for the Pack’s defense. Salvaging the season, however, will take more improvement on both sides of the football.
