With a 45-42 loss to rival No. 12 Wake Forest, the No. 16 NC State football team dropped its third game of the year and its second conference game. Let’s take one last look at what we learned from the game:
Bam Knight explodes
Sophomore running back Zonovan Knight’s been held in check for the majority of the season. Knight last had a 100-plus yard rushing performance in week three against Furman, and before yesterday, hadn’t averaged over 5 yards per carry (YPC) since week five against Louisiana Tech. While he didn’t rush for 100 yards against Wake, he did reach 5 YPC, taking four attempts for 30 yards.
He also dominated in the return game, taking one kick 100 yards to the house and another deep into Wake Forest territory after a 72-yard return. Knight single-handedly sparked the Wolfpack, which went from down 21-6 before his first long return to up 27-24 after his second. Knight picked a great game to get things going again.
Turnovers
Taking the ball away from the opposing team three times is typically an incredible result, especially when that comes in the form of three players picking off a Heisman hopeful. Graduate cornerback Derrek Pitts Jr., redshirt freshman corner Shyheim Battle and junior nickel Tyler Baker-Williams combined to make Sam Hartman’s bad day even worse, but rather than turn the game around for NC State, the takeaways just kept it in the game.
That’s because the offense had an uncharacteristic day of its own, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary throwing two picks and redshirt freshman wide receiver Devin Carter fumbling the ball. If NC State could have gotten any of those plays back, the complexion of the game would have been totally different.
Despite both sides getting three takeaways, only Wake took advantage with seven points off turnovers to NC State’s zero.
No help for the defense
You know what you should do if pretty much your entire defense is hurt? Not get into a scoring contest with one of the best offenses in the country. Whatever the Pack’s game plan was, it didn’t result in complementary football.
The offense, though it averaged a sack-adjusted 5.6 YPC, gave its running backs just 12 rushing attempts while Leary threw the ball 59 times. The time of possession was three minutes in Wake’s favor, and the Demon Deacons ran 91 plays — 14 more than NC State. It’s easy to say in hindsight, but I said it before the game even happened: NC State had to limit Wake’s possessions to win this game.
Instead, it tried to match Wake’s pace and, to add insult to injury, gave Wake a starting field position better than its 40-yard line on five of its 18 drives. Those five drives resulted in 17 points. Again, whatever the game plan was, it didn’t work. That being said, the game plan didn’t call for nine defensive penalties committed for 99 yards of free offense.
Kicking game miscues
45-42 is a three point game. Field goals are worth three points. Junior kicker Chris Dunn missed a 33-yarder in the third quarter. An ill-advised pre-halftime squib led to a 45-yard make by Nick Sciba. If either of those plays had gone differently…
Speaking of special teams, NC State almost pulled off a miracle, but junior running back Ricky Person Jr. grabbed the onside kick just a hair too soon. Special teams continue to be a mixed bag outside of punting.
Emezie, Carter show out
Senior receiver Emeka Emezie and redshirt sophomore receiver Devin Carter came out of hibernation after quiet days last week, each going over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Leary loves attacking the edges of the defense, and while sometimes it appeared his thought was “F— it, Emeka down there somewhere,” time and time again his big receiver made plays for him. Those two were really the only bright spots for the receiving corps.
