Wake Forest, one of the country’s top offenses, clashed with an impressive Wolfpack defense on Saturday night. NC State knew it would have its hands full with quarterback Sam Hartman and the Wake Forest offense but it threw everything it had at him for his worst game of the year thus far. Let’s take a look at how the defense graded out as a whole.

Defensive line

The Wolfpack defensive line kept Hartman under pressure for the majority of the night. The line played a major role in keeping Hartman off balance and making him miss throws he would normally complete. The defensive line combined for three sacks, with graduate defensive end Daniel Joseph battling through injuries in an impressive performance including a sack. 

Graduate defensive tackle Cory Durden and redshirt junior defensive end Ibrahim Kante also both registered a sack on Hartman. Freshman defensive end Davin Vann batted down two passes which was a commonality for the Wolfpack defense on Saturday. While Wake isn’t known for its rushing attack, the Wolfpack defensive line virtually shut down any rush attempt from Wake Forest, holding it to only 2.6 yards per carry.

Grade: A

Linebackers

Sophomore Drake Thomas once again led the linebacker corps into battle. Thomas finished the night with eight total tackles and two tackles for loss. Other key performers include redshirt junior linebacker Vi Jones, who picked up seven tackles and a quarterback hurry as well as freshman Devon Betty, who had five tackles and batted a pass down at the line of scrimmage against Wake Forest.

The linebackers bit a few times against Wake’s “slow mesh” offense that can often leave linebackers out of position. For a relatively young group, it did as good of a job being disciplined with the run pass option as the coaching staff could have hoped for. This was by far the linebacking corps’ toughest test of the season, and while there were some bumps in the road, they hung in there.   

Grade: B

Secondary

The NC State secondary had arguably the most difficult job of any of the defensive units. The secondary held receiver A.T. Perry to only five receptions and 73 yards on over 20 total targets. While Perry did have a few drops, the Wolfpack secondary played a big role in containing the star wide receiver. The secondary also managed to pick off quarterback Hartman three times, the most he has thrown in a game this season. Hartman ended the night with a 42.6% completion percentage and a 71.3 QBR, his lowest since week one of the season. 

NC State racked up a lot of pass interference penalties, and while some of the calls were controversial, the secondary ended up extending a few drives due to being too handsy with the Wake Forest wideouts.

Grade: A-

The defense was let down a bit by the offense, which at times in the night struggled to maintain drives, leaving the defense gassed. Overall it was a strong defensive effort from the Wolfpack considering the circumstances, facing one of the top offenses in the country without key defensive players. Wake ran 91 plays on offense, which is an insanely high number. The Wake Forest offense is legit and will give even the top defenses trouble, which the Wolfpack found out on Saturday night.