The NC State football team will travel to take on No. 12 Florida State this weekend, marking the start of its ACC season and the end to its early-season nonconference slate.
While the Pack has one remaining nonconference game against Notre Dame on Oct. 28, it dives fully into its brutal ACC Atlantic schedule Saturday. The Wolfpack went 2-1 to open the season, with big wins at home over Marshall and Furman, and a season-opening loss to South Carolina in Charlotte. Before we move on to Florida State, let’s stop to analyze what went right, and what didn’t, for the Pack in its first three games.
The largest positive for NC State so far has been the phenomenal play of redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley. Through three games Finley has completed 96 passes, tied for second-most in the country and top in the ACC, on 127 attempts. His completion percentage of 75.6 percent is the eighth-highest in the NCAA and the best in the ACC, and he has also piled up six passing touchdowns and no interceptions.
Finley started his season out on the right foot in the Pack’s 35-28 loss to South Carolina, as the gunslinger broke the school record for completions in a game with 45 completions on 64 attempts. He threw for 415 yards and two touchdowns against the Gamecocks, but it was not enough for the Pack to overcome turnovers, special teams blunders and an essentially nonexistent running game.
Finley followed up his season-opening performance with another great outing in State’s 37-20 win over Marshall at home. Finley went 29 for 36 in that game, with three touchdowns and 341 yards against the Thundering Herd. His pace slowed down slightly in the Pack’s 49-16 win over Furman, as he went 22 for 27 with 231 yards and one touchdown in a game that featured a much more balanced attack for State.
Along with Finley, State’s receiving corps has excelled in the early part of the season. Senior Jaylen Samuels and sophomore Kelvin Harmon have been Finley’s main targets, with both of them already over the 200-yard and 20-reception mark on the season. Samuels has hauled in two touchdown catches, to go along with his three on the ground, and Harmon has one score.
On the other side of the ball, the Wolfpack defensive front has been solid, but perhaps has failed to live up to the high level of preseason hype surrounding the group. Furman’s 133 yards on the ground are the most anyone has put up on the group this year, but the Wolfpack front hasn’t been as prolific at getting into the backfield and tallying sacks and tackles for loss as expected.
While the passing game and defensive front have looked in midseason form for the Wolfpack, other facets of the game have not been as pretty. The defensive secondary has been shaky, the rushing game is improving but needs work and special teams is still a thorn in State’s side.
The Wolfpack secondary is inexperienced and has been beat up, with senior cornerback Mike Stevens having yet to appear in a game due to a knee injury. Redshirt senior cornerback Johnathan Alston, a converted wide receiver, has been starting in Stevens’ place alongside sophomore Nick McCloud at the other corner spot.
At safety, junior Freddie Phillips and redshirt junior Dexter Wright have also suffered injuries. The result of the inconsistency in the secondary has been bad for State, as opponents are averaging 253.7 yards through the air and two passing touchdowns per game.
Another area of State’s play that can be drastically improved is the running game. Head coach Dave Doeren and his staff were faced with the difficult task of replacing 1,000-yard rusher Matt Dayes, and junior running backs Nyheim Hines and Reggie Gallaspy have been expected to carry the load.
Against South Carolina, the rushing game was abysmal, with State picking up only 89 yards. Hines was not bad in the game, but Gallaspy rushed for only 27 yards on 13 carries. Against Marshall the Pack improved to 144 rushing yards, with Gallaspy tallying two touchdowns. Hines, however, had only 29 yards on 13 carries.
The rushing attack was much improved against Furman, with State picking up 242 and a whopping five rushing touchdowns, albeit against an FCS opponent.
The Pack will need to be better and more consistent in both running the ball and in the secondary if it wants to find success in ACC play, but the air attack and defensive front have proven to be strengths of NC State. While the Wolfpack would have loved to be coming into this Florida State game with an unblemished 3-0 record, it proved it had the assets to succeed in the early part of the season.
