The NC State football team picked up its first ACC win of the season Thursday night, taking down Syracuse 16-10 in a slow-moving slugfest. The Wolfpack’s defense had one of its best performances of the season and the front six being able to consistently pressure the quarterback was a huge reason why. Here are how the Wolfpack’s defensive groups graded out.

Defensive Line

For the second game in a row, the NC State defensive line was simultaneously a wrecking crew and impenetrable. Led by graduate defensive tackle Larrell Murchison’s two sacks, two tackles for loss and six solo tackles, the defensive line pressured Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito on almost every snap, making life miserable for the Cuse quarterback. DeVito was hit all night long and finished with -15 rushing yards on 15 attempts.

The defensive line was also a nightmare for Syracuse’s running game, holding the Orange to just 41 yards on 37 carries, with no player on Syracuse netting even four yards per carry. The line’s impenetrable performance helped force the Orange to run a one-dimensional offense, and that was the difference maker in the game.

Murchison led the linemen with two sacks, but sophomore tackle Alim McNeill also had one and redshirt sophomore defensive end Xavier Lyas picked up half a sack.

Grade: A

Linebackers

The linebacking corps had perhaps its best game of the season, due in large part to junior Louis Acceus’ career-high three sacks and 14 total tackles. Redshirt junior Brock Miller notched a sack of his own and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Moore was second on the team with 10 total tackles while also helping bring DeVito down once, picking up a half sack.

Along with the defensive line, the linebackers were a key part of limiting Syracuse’s ground game and forcing the Orange to abandon its game plan. Acceus and Moore made sure that on the rare occasion a Syracuse running back slipped through the defensive line, they didn’t get very far.

Grade: A

Secondary

While the box score doesn’t show the whole picture, the NC State secondary played a good game. DeVito managed to throw for 300 yards and a touchdown on 29-for-39 passing, but the Wolfpack secondary made DeVito and his receivers work for every one of those yards. Syracuse didn’t score its first touchdown until there were just three minutes remaining in the third quarter, and the secondary was a major reason why.

Playing without senior starting cornerback Nick McCloud and redshirt freshman cornerback Taiyon Palmer, the secondary slowed down a potent Syracuse air attack and played a role in the linemen and linebackers’ eight sacks, forcing a couple of coverage sacks.

The secondary faltered a bit down the stretch, conceding a 13-play, 90-yard drive in the fourth quarter that made it a one-score game and letting the Orange into Wolfpack territory with under a minute to go, but a Murchison sack ended the game.

Grade: B-