The NC State Wolfpack (2-1) took on the West Virginia Mountaineers (2-1) in the team’s first road game and first Power 5 test of the year. The game seemed to be a potential statement-maker, with a struggling Mountaineer offense matching up with a strong and seemingly consistent Wolfpack defense.
However, the Pack was put in its place in the game, and the Mountaineers had an uncharacteristically strong offensive game. Let’s take a look at what went wrong on the defensive side of the ball for the Pack.
Defensive line
The defensive line did not put up a strong game against the Mountaineers, which is disappointing at the first glance, but the team was without star graduate defensive end James Smith-Williams, who missed the game due to an injury. The group was also faced up against an upperclassmen offensive line, who only gave up one sack in the game to graduate Deonte Holden. Redshirt sophomore Ibrahim Kante started in place of Smith-Williams, and only posted one tackle, while the rest of the line posted seven total tackles, five of which were from redshirt senior Larrell Murchison.
More disappointing than actual sacks or numbers though, was the fact that seemingly no one on the line could even come close to pressuring West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall, who finished with 33 rushing yards on just four attempts, and was barely disrupted, finishing with 67.5% completion and 272 passing yards.
On top of all of this, the group failed to stunt the seemingly poor rushing attack of West Virginia, letting its rushers combine for 173 yards, including 66 yards from Kennedy McKoy, who had 12 rushing yards on 18 attempts entering the game.
Overall, failure to pressure Kendall after the first half, and allowing the struggling West Virginia offense to run all over the Pack, led to a failing grade for the Smith-Williams-less D-line.
Final Grade: F
Linebackers
The linebackers, like the D-line, were completely unproductive for the Pack, finishing with 14 total tackles and eight solo tackles. Even though the group came away with an interception from freshman Drake Thomas, the linebackers failed to produce any significant pressure on Kendall, and failed to contain the Mountaineer rushers.
Outside of Thomas, the linebackers look even worse statistically, with just a handful of tackles under their belt. Going forward, this group needs to drastically improve, as the Pack was capable of winning many games through the sheer leadership of the linebacker corps last season.
Final Grade: D
Secondary
The receiving corps of West Virginia was one group to look out for on the offensive side of the ball going into the game, and quite obviously, this group got the better of the NC State secondary. The Mountaineer receivers finished with an incredible 272 yards on 27 receptions, good for three passing touchdowns.
Statistically, in terms of tackles and overall production, the secondary was the most productive group for the Pack, but this comes somewhat as a byproduct of the 3-3-5 system that NC State employs. Perhaps it was the fact that the 3-3-5 scheme utilized by current Wolfpack co-defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was also employed when he worked for West Virginia, making it easy to read, but the methodical way in which the Mountaineers sliced through the secondary is inexcusable.
Overall, the secondary finished with 34 total tackles, 27 solo tackles, two tackles for loss and three pass deflections, an impressive mark, but again somewhat inflated by the sheer amount of players on the field for the secondary.
Had the secondary taken advantage of a then-struggling Kendall by grabbing an interception, or even held the receiving corps to a significantly less marking than 10.1 yards per reception, then the tide of the game could have been changed. However, this group allowed Mountaineer Sam James to finish with 155 yards, one touchdown and 17.2 yards per reception, hurting the grade, and overall led to the losing effort.
Final Grade: D
Overall Defensive Grade: D-
