NC State opened the 2019-2020 football season with a 34-6 victory over East Carolina. Both teams are in the midst of a rebuild, with NC State losing most of its offensive production to the NFL and ECU bringing in a new coaching staff headed by Mike Houston.
The Wolfpack stumped the Pirates’ rushing attack for the second year in a row, turned the Pirates over, and created pressure on quarterback Holton Ahlers at will. On the offensive side, several new faces flashed for NC State as its co-offensive coordinators spread the ball around the skill-position players. Here are some takeaways from NC State’s first game:
Co-OCs Des Kitchings and George McDonald emphasize creating mismatches
Losing former offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz to Appalachian State was tough to swallow for Wolfpack fans, but Kitchings and McDonald impressed in their second game coordinating together for the Wolfpack. The duo has installed more variety into NC State’s offense.
Chief among the changes are passes to running backs. During the first quarter, sophomore starting back Ricky Person Jr. split out wide, isolated against a linebacker. Person easily beat him, forcing pass interference that put the Wolfpack in the red zone. NC State’s trio of Person and freshmen Zonovan Knight and Jordan Houston showcased their versatility with a combined 20 carries for 97 yards and 5 receptions for 57 yards.
Kitchings and McDonald used fake screens to create explosive plays for the Wolfpack. During Tabari Hines’ 48-yard touchdown reception, Hines pretended to miss a block for tight end Cary Angeline before sneaking uncovered into the backside of the defense. Later, with trips to the right, quarterback Matthew McKay faked a screen to that side of the field before scooting around the left edge to score a 21-yard touchdown.
Matthew McKay is as advertised
In his first start, McKay, a redshirt sophomore, went 25-37 for 308 yards passing with a touchdown and added another 35 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. It’s hard to be disappointed with such a performance. It wasn’t pretty, but he gets the job done: In the second quarter, McKay and Person had a miscommunication on a handoff, but the sophomore stayed cool and followed his blockers into the end zone to extend NC State’s lead to 17-3. One area to clean up was third down. NC State went 4 for 12 on such plays, with McKay going 3 for 8 for two conversions via pass.
McKay isn’t Ryan Finley; that was evident in his slight struggles with touch on deeper passes. But the two share a common skill: good decision-making. McKay consistently got the ball to the right read and stood tall in the pocket, even when it meant taking a shot after the throw. It’s easy to see why Finley’s former understudy won the job.
Ingle settling in at free safety
As a true freshman, Tanner Ingle was thrown into the fire starting at nickel for an injured Stephen Griffin. Now that Griffin is healthy and nickelbacks coach Aaron Henry has built some depth at the position, Ingle moved to safety and won the free safety job over Tim Kidd-Glass during the offseason. According to Ingle, his playbook got easier going from nickel to safety. Now that the sophomore has less to think about, he gets to just read, react and rally up to the ball.
Ingle flew around the field on Saturday, with eight total stops, half a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. Ingle has kept up his reputation for laying the wood, almost getting ejected for targeting. Ingle was the best player in the secondary against ECU, and with Kidd-Glass transferring, there is little depth behind him.
Depth a huge strength for the Wolfpack
Head coach Dave Doeren played a lot of players against ECU, with over 40 players finding their way onto the field. Being able to rest starters and pull from the two-deep and three-deep of the roster is a luxury not every team has, and certainly not at every position. Four different running backs played for NC State, along with six linebackers. With all the young talent on the roster, it’s important for the newcomers to gain experience, and Doeren will continue to find ways to get them time on the field.
“I thought a lot of guys worked really hard competing in training camp to get on the field,” Doeren said. “I felt like our depth versus ECU not having a lot of depth was an advantage. I also feel like playing these guys as much as we can early sets us up when you have an injury, to not have a guy starstruck … I think will help us long term.”
Beer sales not keeping fans in the stands
Beer sales began at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, with Old Tuffy, Cloud Surfer, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, and Truly available for purchase. Doeren once jokingly promised to shotgun a beer if it meant fans would stay in the stadium after halftime, but during noon blowout games, it’s hard to blame people for escaping the heat. Sure enough, when the Wolfpack returned to the field up 17-3 to begin the second half, the crowd in the stands had dwindled.
“I thank the fans for being there; I know it was hot today,” Doeren said. “I hope you enjoyed what you got to see. I know for our players, we need you. We need you for four quarters, and I know it’s hot, but we want to be special. So again, just continue to do everything you can to be back there for us in the third quarter. We love you if you can be. It means a lot to these kids.”
