NC State lost a heartbreaker to Clemson with the ACC Atlantic Division on the line Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Pack won’t want to hear about moral victories, but there’s no doubt that the team head coach Dave Doeren has put together belongs on the field with any team in the country.
Here’s how each position group performed in the 38-31 loss:
Quarterback — B+
It’s hard to ask much more from your quarterback against one of the best passing defenses in the country, but redshirt junior Ryan Finley made two poor throws that would have changed the outcome of the game.
He overthrew sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Harmon, who was wide open on the sideline, for what would have been a 90-yard touchdown and given State a 28-17 lead. He also threw an interception early in the fourth quarter with NC State down by three, which gave Clemson a short field which they capitalized on. Other than those two throws, Finley was phenomenal.
Running Back — B-
Junior running back Nyheim Hines, one of the Pack’s three all-ACC playmakers, missed most of the Notre Dame game, and was clearly limited against Clemson with a sprained ankle.
Hines’ limitations put the State running game behind the eight ball, but junior running back Reggie Gallaspy and senior all-purpose back Jaylen Samuels helped pick up the slack. Using Finley as a running threat was a huge help to the offense as well.
Wide Receivers — A+
The days of wide receivers being a weakness for the Pack are gone. Harmon is arguably the best receiver in the ACC, and on a short list of best receivers in the country, after his 155-yard day against one of the top passing defenses in the country.
Redshirt sophomore Jakobi Meyers had 105 yards and a touchdown, and made a huge catch on third down, which got questionably overturned after a long review. Redshirt junior Stephen Louis had six catches for 55 yards.
Offensive line — A+
Offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford’s group shut down arguably the best defensive line in the country. State rushed for 153 yards, for the most part without the help of Hines. Finley had all day in the pocket, and the one time he was sacked was because he slipped. Big-time programs could come after Ledford this offseason, and the Pack needs to do all it can to keep him.
Defensive line — D
The Pack needed more from its most talented and experienced position group in perhaps the biggest two-game stretch in program history. After Notre Dame ran for over 300 yards last week, Clemson ran for 227, although 89 came on one play. Tigers quarterback Kelly Bryant wasn’t sacked once and State only had two tackles for loss.
Linebackers — D
Clemson was 7-16 on third down and 2-2 on fourth down. That’s the game in a nutshell. If the Pack had gotten two more third-down stops, the game would probably have yielded a different result. Senior Airius Moore was tied for the team lead with nine tackles.
Secondary — A-
It’s a misconception that the Pack secondary is the weak point of the defense, it certainly wasn’t on Saturday. Clemson has elite athletes all over the field, yet the Pack held Bryant to 20-38 passing and 191 yards. Clemson did get an additional 40 yards on pass interference calls, 21 percent of their total passing offense.
Sophomore safeties Tim Kid-Glass and Jarius Morehead look to be stars in the making, with Kid-Glass with an interception on the first series while Morehead had eight tackles.
Coaching — A
It’s easy for fans to complain about the coaches on game day, and maybe State ran one too many wildcat plays, and shouldn’t have punted on fourth down from midfield, but that is extreme hindsight nitpicking.
Head coach Dave Doeren and his staff have flaws, but every staff does. Doeren has built the Pack into a team that has the talent to compete with any team in the country, which is extremely difficult to do at NC State. That didn’t happen by accident.
This team has given fans reason to believe in this program in the short term and long term, which hasn’t been done at NC State in a long time, and the coaching staff deserves credit for the talent and faith fans should have in this team.
Sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Harmon gets around the Clemson defense for what would be a big gain, called back by an illegal block in the back. Harmon led the team with 155 yards through the air. Despite the 38-31 heartbreaking loss in the final seconds Harmon said that "We've still goa a lot to play for. We've got Boston Colelge next week, so we're going to come back to work tomorrow and stay with our same routine." The Wolfpack fell to Clemson on Saturday, Nov. 4 in Carter-Finley stadium.
