The NC State football team fell 28-26 to Georgia Tech on the road Thursday night, and once again, the defense struggled to stop a nosebleed. The Yellow Jackets ran for over 250 yards on their way to nearly 400 total yards. Here is how the Wolfpack’s defense graded out after the loss.
Defensive line
The defensive line was mauled in the trenches all night long. Defensive tackle Larrell Murchison and company got zero push up front, as the graduate and his defensive line finished with zero sacks and just 1.5 tackles for loss, all courtesy of redshirt sophomore defensive end Ibrahim Kante.
In addition to getting no pressure on the quarterback, the defensive line also struggled to stop the run game. Georgia Tech averaged over six yards per carry and had two 100-yard rushers as the Yellow Jackets amassed 266 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Wolfpack defensive line was at its worst in the second half when the offense was trying its best to muster a comeback. The line was gashed for 140 yards in the second half and allowed Georgia Tech to sustain long, clock-draining drives.
Grade: F
Linebackers
NC State’s linebackers were hit or miss on Thursday night. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Moore, redshirt freshman Payton Wilson and redshirt junior Brock Miller combined for 21 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss as the trio had its hands full with Georgia Tech’s rushing duo of running back Jordan Mason and quarterback James Graham. Mason and Graham were breaking through the line on almost every running play and the Wolfpack’s linebackers did an adequate job cleaning things up.
Although the ‘backers were solid tackling, they also couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback. No linebacker registered a sack and only freshman Jaylon Scott notched a quarterback hurry. The lack of pressure in the backfield allowed the Yellow Jackets to run all over the defense and pick apart the secondary.
Grade: C
Secondary
The Wolfpack secondary didn’t get a lot of action in the passing game, but when it did it wasn’t pretty. Graham, who entered the game with just eight touchdown passes in nine games, tossed three touchdowns on the night and pushed the ball downfield when he threw. Graham completed only seven of 15 passes, but threw for 129 yards on his 15 attempts, averaging over eight yards per attempt.
The secondary didn’t have its worst performance of the season, but in a favorable matchup against one of the worst quarterbacks in the conference, the defensive backs failed. Graham turned in a 116.4 passer rating and didn’t throw an interception for the first time in over a month.
Grade: D
