After two consecutive losses, the NC State football team picked up a 17-14 road win against a pesky conference opponent in Boston College. It was not the prettiest sight to see, but the Wolfpack squeaked by for its seventh win of the season.
Here is a graded breakdown of what happened in Boston Saturday afternoon.
Quarterback: C-
Redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley had his worst performance of the season thus far against Boston College. Although the Eagles boast a very strong pass defense, Finley just seemed off. He had season lows in completion percentage (40.6), yards (146) and yards per attempt (4.56). While things were struggling through the air after his fourth interception in three games, Finley picked up a couple of first downs and big plays on the ground with 39 rushing yards, including a 36-yard scamper.
Running Backs: A-
The only aspect of the game that gave the offense a lift was running the ball. Junior running back Nyheim Hines had his fourth 100-yard rushing game with 110 against the Eagles. Despite his 50-yard touchdown, Hines was primarily bottled up and averaged just 3 yards a run before his long touchdown. Senior all-purpose back Jaylen Samuels added 37 rushing yards, had 59 total yards and punched in the only other touchdown of the game for the Wolfpack with a short-yardage push into the end zone in the second quarter. Junior running back Reggie Gallaspy also logged 32 of NC State’s 221 rushing yards.
Receivers: C
After amazing showings against teams like Clemson and Louisville, the receivers took a big step backwards against Boston College. Passing woes were far from being just the fault of Finley as receivers dropped passes and struggled to get open against the stingy pass coverage of the Eagles. Sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Harmon was the only person to collect more than two catches as he recorded five receptions for 68 yards.
Offensive Line: B+
This was another strong showing for the Pack’s O-line as they opened holes for the run game that averaged 5.4 yards a run and allowed only one quarterback sack. There were a few instances where Finley felt pressure and had his passes tipped from the Eagles’ defensive line, but for the most part, the line gave Finley time and protection to throw.
Defensive Line: B
Senior defensive end Bradley Chubb continued to impress in his final season as an NC State player with 2.5 sacks, eight tackles and a forced fumble against Boston College. The defensive line did an excellent job pressuring the quarterback but could not tighten their run coverage. Allowing 236 rushing yards and 196 of those to a freshman running back is not ideal, especially to a team that has had a top-10 run stop unit. But with 12 tackles for loss, the line was able to make stops and keep the Eagles’ from pulling away.
Linebackers: B+
Redshirt senior Jerod Fernandez had his third game of double digit tackles this season on Saturday with 11 and 0.5 sacks. The linebackers were busy yet again with a powerful rushing attack from Boston College. The position was able to stop most of the runs before they developed into big gains and provided pass coverage on critical third downs that stopped the Eagles from getting first downs.
Secondary: A-
Although they played mostly against a backup quarterback, the secondary allowed a season best 111 passing yards. After Boston College marched down to the red zone on their opening drive, the secondary came in clutch with a tip by sophomore safety Jarius Morehead in the end zone that was intercepted by fellow senior safety Shawn Boone. In third down situations, the secondary was able to pick up screen passes and cover man-to-man to prevent several passing conversions.
Special Teams: C-
In his first game as starter this season, junior kicker Kyle Bambard took the embarrassing field goal unit for the Wolfpack and made it disgraceful after making only one of his four attempts on the day. Coming up just short on his first attempt of over 50 yards and originally missing his only made attempt from 41 yards before a timeout by Boston College, Bambard missed two kicks from less than 40 yards out. Instead of a close win against Boston College, the score could have easily been 26-14. Junior punter A.J. Cole has been the lone standout in special teams recently with a 45.1 punt average this season. Also, a blocked punt with less than 10 seconds left in the first half set up a field goal that gave State the lead.
