The NC State football team’s 2016 season was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. While a 7-6 (3-5 ACC) record met general expectations, the route the team took to get those wins was not the way most had envisioned the team getting to .500. Let’s take a look back at the team’s interesting path in the 2016 season.
As expected, the Pack started out hot with a 4-1 record, but the twist was that it lost to ECU rather than Notre Dame. Additionally, few expected the game to go on in the middle of a hurricane on the much-anticipated 50th anniversary of Carter-Finley Stadium. Either way, it was not pretty, but NC State came out with a win in arguably the most memorable game of the season.
While it is also worth noting that Notre Dame was not nearly as good as it was originally expected to be, it was still important for the Wolfpack to get the victory and continue its hot start, with the exception of the ECU loss. Following this win, State endured its roughest stretch since head coach Dave Doeren’s first year with the team, as it proceeded to lose five of its next six games.
This rough stretch started with a demoralizing loss against the eventual national champion, Clemson, at Death Valley. While the loss was expected, it was the manner in which the team lost that was the rough part.
NC State outplayed the Tigers for much of the game with the help of four forced turnovers, and this continued until the last drive of the game. With the help of senior Matt Dayes, the Wolfpack was putting together arguably its best offensive drive of the game. However, with little time left, the Pack simply got into good field goal range to set up sophomore Kyle Bambard for what would have been a 33-yard field goal.
We all know what happened next. He missed his third field goal of the day, sending it into overtime, and the game ended with redshirt sophomore Ryan Finley throwing an interception directly after a Clemson touchdown to fall short of the major upset. This began a four-game losing streak that included a 54-13 blowout at Louisville, followed by another game that ended in a Finley interception to a Boston College team that had lost its previous 12 ACC games. The rough streak continued when NC State fell short of another upset, this time to Florida State.
Despite the rough loss, the team came back fighting with a 35-20 win at Syracuse for its first road victory of the season. However, this was short-lived, as Miami sophomore Mark Walton ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns the following week to lead the Hurricanes to victory in the Pack’s final home game of the year. Walton was the only player to rush for over 100 yards against the stout Wolfpack defense.
With fans angry and disgruntled at the Pack’s 5-6 record going into the season finale against UNC, many clamored for a change in leadership. However, the Wolfpack did the unexpected — it beat its archrival on the road, earning bowl-eligibility and killing any chances of UNC getting to the ACC Championship game in the process. Additionally, the team went on to win its bowl game against Vanderbilt in a dominant fashion, ending with the same record as it did the year before.
Considering the twists and turns, a lot of good came out of this season. Dayes became the first 1,000-yard rusher for the Pack since T.A. McClendon did it in 2002. The defense, led by juniors Bradley Chubb, Airius Moore and Josh Jones, put together arguably its best season under Doeren, ranking eighth against the run and only allowing one 100-yard rusher all season despite facing elite rushers FSU’s Dalvin Cook, Clemson’s Wayne Gallman and UNC’s Elijah Hood.
However, NC State will have to replace veteran leaders Dayes, Jones, center Joe Scelfo and cornerback Jack Tocho. Additionally, it will have to solve issues in the kicking game, which arguably lost two games for the team and hampered it in a few others.
With the Pack returning 75 percent of the players from its two-deep depth chart, fans will get to see a much more experienced team take the field for the 2017 season. This also means expectations will be higher, and it will be the Wolfpack’s task to live up to them this time around.
Sophomore kicker Kyle Bambard kicks a 38-yard field goal to put the first three points on the board for the Wolfpack on Oct. 8. Hurricane Matthew didn’t stop the Wolfpack from defeating Notre Dame 10-3 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
