NC State finished its non-conference schedule by squeezing out a win against Northern Illinois, another mid-major opponent. While Northern Illinois did upset Notre Dame earlier this season it followed that up with a close loss to Buffalo. Furthermore, this in itself showed that the game would be competitive, however, NC State should not had much issue. However, as time expired the Wolfpack won 24-17. What are some key takeaways from NC State’s third win of the season?
The Offensive Struggles Continue
The NC State offense finished the day with 171 yards on offense. Not much else can be said about this besides that it is not good. While the team did not have any turnovers lost, it did not have much else to write home about. The team converted only one out of eleven third downs.
The offensive line had a decent performance, only giving up two sacks, however, they also had two holding penalties. Furthermore, true freshman CJ Bailey was more of a game manager this time around with one fumble, however, fortunately, NC State was able to recover.
He had two touchdowns, with one being through the air and one on the ground.
Defense Improves with Four Key Takeaways
The NC State defense appeared to finally have a performance that looked like they are known for. The team forced four fumbles, while recovering two and picked off Northern Illinois quarterback, Ethan Hampton, twice. Furthermore, Northern Illinois is a team that has been known for their running attack this season and was held to only 124 yards. For comparison, the Huskies had 190 yards against Notre Dame.
The team also had four sacks, with contributions from all over the defense. Caden Fordham led the team in tackles with ten and one sack. Davin Vann also had a strong performance with seven tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. However, one person who is quickly turning heads is DK Kaufman.
Kaufman transferred from Auburn this past offseason and has quickly become a key factor in the defense. Against Northern Illinois, he had two tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. He is currently on track for career bests in practically every defensive stat and fans are hoping he can keep this up.
Does NC State Run With Two QBs Against Wake Forest
Grayson McCall’s status heading into Saturday’s game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons is still uncertain. However, if he is healthy what decisions will Dave Doeren make? Will we see him and CJ Bailey get playing time in a quarterback battle or will Doeren and offensive coordinator Robert Anae make a decision to commit to one guy?
Furthermore, with the offense struggling will we begin to see an opening up of the playbook? The team has offensive talent from top to bottom, the team just needs to allow them to show it.
Wake Forest has been abysmal this season and this will give the team some opportunity to experiment. However, this should also be used as an opportunity to open the playbook for the players to show what they really can do. On the other hand, though the team has struggled this season offensively, but could be argued that it is due to pretty conservative playcalling.
We will see what Dave Doeren brings out Saturday but hopefully, the team will have a better all-around performance.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images