There is plenty of blame to go around as it pertains to NC State’s disappointing performance against the Miami Hurricanes that caused the Pack to lose its second game of the year and drop out of the national rankings. From predictable play calling to inconsistencies in routine plays on both sides of the ball, it was simply a mess in all aspects for a former top-20 team in the country.

The offense had its fair share of problems, missing out on critical third down conversions for unnecessary reasons such as drops and failing to establish any dominance with the run game, but it was the defense that allowed this game to get out of hand. Any time you allow a backup quarterback to torch you for 325 yards and four touchdowns on an insane 75% completion rate is a massive failure on the defense’s part.

Assessing the defense’s performance from this matchup feels like beating a dead horse, but there is a lot to be learned from this uncharacteristically poor showing about what’s next for NC State football as the season continues.

Defensive line

Tyler Van Dyke had been sacked at a clip of 3.5 times per game against ACC opponents coming into the matchup against the Pack, and NC State actually did well to get bodies to him early on. Specific to the defensive line, freshman defensive tackle Davin Vann found some success against a pretty poor Miami offensive line, recording a sack as well as a tackle for loss. 

In a game where most would’ve expected a defense as nasty as “squeegee water at the gas station” to exemplify some sort of dominance up front, the defensive line fell flat. Containment was the name of the game after how quickly Miami’s offense took the reins of the matchup, and it hindered the Pack’s ability to end drives quickly. Names like graduate defensive tackles Cory Durden and Daniel Joseph as well as sophomore end Savion Jackson remained quiet all game outside of a rare tackle for loss from those three.

Time and time again it seems as if all the pressure for this Wolfpack defense is resting on the shoulders in the second level, with the linebacking core having to pick up the slack left out by an inability to make stops up front. Injuries happen, and losing C.J. Clark is a big deal, but these guys were recruited all the same to be able to fill in and do the job. The performance against Maimi definitely raises some red flags going forward, but the pitfalls of the defense as a whole don’t fall on the line’s shoulders alone.

Grade: D 

Linebackers

In what was a poor performance all around from the Wolfpack defensive unit, the linebackers were dealt the worst hand as they have been for the entire season. Losing redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore early on was perhaps the absolute worst case scenario on either side of the ball for NC State. Moore has proven to be the glue holding this defense together, inspiring his teammates to make big plays in big situations. The defensive captain had been doing it all in place of redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson, who was forced to sideline for the remainder of the season after an injury earlier this year.

In a scheme where everything underneath and any runs through the middle all feed into your linebackers, there are going to be some letdowns more often than not. This especially applies to a banged-up unit trying to make the most out of what it has to work with. Despite their best efforts, Miami proved to be too much for the group to handle. Any time they put all the focus onto containing Van Dyke, Hurricanes running back Jaylan Knighton would break away for chunk yards.

Sophomore Drake Thomas had already been elevating his play this year alongside Moore, being a perfect counterpunch to the opening blow that Moore has proven to be. In his absence, Thomas did well to step up and lead the team in both tackles and sacks, doing it all for a defense that came out flat and remained that way over the course of the entire game.

Freshman linebacker Devon Betty also played a big role in keeping the final score within one point, proving to be a valuable asset as a play-stopper in the second level. Betty’s 2.5 tackles for loss were a team high, but in the grand scheme of things they wouldn’t be enough to contain Van Dyke and his offensive squad.

Of all the skill groups, the linebackers put up the most noble effort in the worst situation and should be applauded for the attempt in a time of absolute disaster. The unit will have a lot to improve on with the loss of Moore for the rest of year, but for whatever reason these NC State linebackers live by the next man up motto and played accordingly.

Grade: C

Secondary

Simply put, the secondary has been the weakest point of this defense all season. Every game, no matter who the opponent is, the question remains: how well can the first two levels mitigate the self-inflicted damage from the secondary? In the game against Miami, the efforts from the guys up front and the linebacking group were not enough to counteract the huge yards given up by a disappointing pass defense.

The NC State defense did not break up a single pass, and while that falls on both the secondary and linebackers, allowing for Van Dyke to look like a prime Jim Kelly while simultaneously allowing for wide receiver Charleston Rambo to masquerade as Reggie Wayne is a failure on the secondary. Rambo would finish the game with nine receptions, the longest of which went for 60 yards, for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman corner Aydan White was burned on multiple occasions, allowing Rambo to make Van Dyke look like someone who wasn’t just ranked as the third worst quarterback in the ACC by 247 sports. 

All the stars were aligned for the secondary unit to have a breakout performance against a less than average quarterback who was barely maintaining a positive touchdown to interception ratio against ACC opponents, but as this portion of the defense is accustomed to doing, it fell short. There is only so much stepping up that can be done by the linebackers. With the loss of Moore, it seems like it’s now or never for the secondary to figure it out. One thing is for certain: Saturday’s performance against Miami was not a great starting spot.

Grade: F