NC State football had a defensive meltdown against Clemson, losing 59-35 in Death Valley. The Wolfpack fell to 2-2, putting its playoff hopes on life support after Clemson put up 45 points in the first half with over 400 yards of total offense.
Linebackers
After the first four games of the season, the linebacker position has struggled to make big impacts on opposing offenses. The struggles continued as fans reminisced about the irreplaceable superstar linebacker Payton Wilson. None of the linebackers have come close to the way Wilson performed in his final year, and it is critically affecting the Pack’s performance.
Redshirt junior Caden Fordham had a solid defensive performance, totalling eight tackles and one quarterback hurry. Fordham was the second linebacker behind Wilson last year, and some of his game can be traced back to how Wilson played. Fordham has a high ceiling, but has been a step behind in his first four games.
Alongside Fordham is redshirt junior linebacker Sean Brown, who was the sole bright spot in the Pack’s defense, recording the only sack alongside five tackles and one tackle for loss.
The linebackers looked off as soon as the ball was snapped. The Clemson offensive line came to play, giving quarterback Cade Klubnik all the time he needed in the pocket. The explosiveness and fire was missing from the Pack, likely snuffed out following the 28-0 Clemson lead after the first quarter.
Defensive line
The Clemson ground game had a field day with the NC State defensive line. The powerful Clemson offensive line owned the line of scrimmage from start to finish on Saturday.
Massive run holes and creases were created by the Tigers’ offensive line, leading to massive run gains from Clemson, one of which was a 55-yard touchdown run from Klubnik. The Wolfpack has not been able to top the quarterback run effectively this season, as all three previous teams have had a big quarterback run at some point in the game.
The Pack’s defensive line couldn’t hold the Clemson running backs to save its life. Running backs Phil Mafah and Jay Haynes exposed weak holes in the line, rushing for a combined 149 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those two alone nearly outrushed the entire NC State offense, which only had 183 yards on the ground.
The defensive line couldn’t put any pressure on Klubnik, allowing for him to air out deep passes for big gains. Klubnik had a very calm presence in the pocket against NC State, allowing him to show some swagger and make every point hurt even more for Wolfpack fans.
Secondary
The Wolfpack’s secondary had an especially rough game. While the defensive line struggled with the run game, the secondary had its fair share of struggles with deep passes and one-on-one slot matchups with Clemson receivers.
NC State threw 257 passing yards to Clemson’s 254, but that doesn’t mean that the secondary stepped up and locked down the Tigers pass offense. The secondary didn’t record an interception in the game and was constantly getting beat by receivers. The Clemson blockers made short work of the secondary as corners and linebackers struggled to make open field tackles.
The Wolfpack had four pass breakups the entire game and was just a step late to Clemson receivers. The Wolfpack secondary played mediocre in the retrospect of things, but still has a lot of silly mistakes to clean up as the season progresses.
