The NC State football team attempts to notch its first ACC win of the season Saturday against Wake Forest at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem.
Following a tough start to conference play, the Wolfpack (4-2, 0-2 ACC) hopes adjustments made during the bye week will help the team get back on track against a Demon Deacon (3-4, 1-3 ACC) squad with a struggling offense and inconsistent defense.
“It’s good to be back into game week, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to play a game against Wake,” NC State head coach Dave Doeren said. “It’s an important game obviously for us and for them.”
Wake Forest struggled on both sides of the ball in its 50-14 blowout loss to the Tar Heels last week, giving up 538 total yards on defense and only mustering 310 total yards of offense.
The Pack struggled in its last game against Virginia Tech, falling 28-13 and failing to do much of anything offensively.
Senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett gained a season-low 113 yards passing and threw his first interception of the year. Junior running back Matt Dayes gained fewer than 100 yards on the ground for the second straight game.
It will be critical for Brissett and Dayes to have bounce back performances Saturday against a Wake Forest defense that shut out Boston College two weeks ago and ranked 15th nationally in total defense before its poor performance against the Tar Heels.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to play a really good Wake defense,” Doeren said. “For our offense, it’s going to be a great challenge. They play hard and are sound.”
Pack’s coaches as well as their players have spent the bye week working to solve the issues on offense, with a focus on finding balance between the run and the pass. This could mean seeing Brissett throw the ball downfield more often.
“We want to be more balanced, and we need to score more points,” Doeren said. “Those are obvious things that we’re working hard to be able to do better.”
Because Wake has struggled at times this season against the run, expect the Demon Deacons to load the box with extra defenders to stop Dayes. By doing so, it will open up one-on-one matchups in the passing game that Brissett can take advantage of.
Despite the Demon Deacons offensive struggles, sophomore quarterback John Wolford was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing loss to the Tar Heels, completing 16-of-22 passes for 176 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
While he hasn’t set the world on fire, Wolford has shown flashes of the skills and potential he displayed on the high school level when he broke Tim Tebow’s Northeast Florida career touchdown passing record.
Redshirt sophomore Cam Serigne is Wolford’s top target and ranks first among all tight ends nationally in receptions and fourth in receiving yards.
At 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, Serigne is often a size mismatch and considered one of the top tight ends in the country, evidenced by his inclusion on the midseason John Mackey Award watch list.
“They have a tight end who is a matchup problem for a lot of people,” Doeren said. “They look to him on third down and in the red zone, but their outside receivers are playing much better than a year ago.”
The Pack will have to limit Serigne’s catches as he seems to make big plays or score every time he touches the ball.
With matchups against No. 6 Clemson and No. 9 Florida State looming over the next few weeks, this is a must-win game because a Wolfpack loss could send a season with such high preseason expectations spiraling out of control.
