After N.C. State’s four-point loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, coach Dave Doeren said the team has “a lot of football left in front of them.” He’s correct, because there are six games left on the regular season schedule and anything is possible, but the probability of winning 10 games is dwindling.
The Wolfpack has another shot at correcting course this week, but it faces a Syracuse squad that features the No. 2 passing offense in the nation.
N.C. State enters the game with the same objective as last week: limit the Orange’s offense via defense and special teams, so CJ Bailey and the players around him have a shot at keeping up. It did that relatively well Saturday for three quarters.
The defense held Wake Forest to 142 total yards in the first half and 49 rushing yards. Through the third quarter, the Demon Deacons recorded 192 total yards and 83 rushing. They were 1 of 6 on third downs, had two turnovers and 13 first downs.
N.C. State’s defensive performance in the final 11 minutes cost the team a win. It gave up 123 yards and eight first downs. The Deacs went 2 of 5 on third down and 3 of 3 on fourth down. They out-possessed the Wolfpack 11:27 to 3:33 — all things that contributed to Wake’s come-from-behind victory.
Comparatively, the Wolfpack offense racked up 271 first-half yards and increased that to 372 through three quarters.
Its 419 yards for the entire game were the second-most when playing an FBS opponent. N.C. State recorded 436 against Clemson, but the team didn’t face the Tigers’ starters the entire game.
The Wolfpack added 28 first downs, tying a season high. Beyond the numbers, the offense — playing in honor of the injured Grayson McCall — looked different. Players powered through Wake Forest defenders for extra yardage in a way they hadn’t in previous games. Eight players recorded two receptions each and three non-quarterbacks notched positive yardage on the ground.
The rookie Bailey had his best performance of the season. He went 28 of 42 passing for a career-high 272 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception on the final drive of the game that sealed Wake’s comeback victory, but Doeren didn’t place the blame on him.
“I thought he came in the game with poise, and he gave us a chance to win the game,” Doeren said of Bailey. “Made a lot of nice plays with his arm, with his legs. He was a good leader on the sideline. I know he’s down for throwing a pick there in that last drive, but CJ didn’t lose that football game. He did a lot of good things today.”
UConn transfer Justin Joly had his best performance of the fall against the Deacs, as well. He contributed a season-high 73 yards, four catches and his first touchdown in a Wolfpack uniform.
“That was a hard-fought football game by two teams that really wanted to win,” Doeren said. “Bottom line is, they made more plays than we did in key moments and you gotta learn from that.”
The questions now become: Will the Wolfpack learn? Can it replicate the first three quarters and prevent the fourth-quarter debacle against Syracuse? Or will the team be saying similar things next week?
Syracuse’s greatest strength: Passing offense
The Orange upset No. 25 UNLV on the road last week, pulling off a 44-41 victory in overtime. It used a 14-point first quarter and 27 points in the second half, including the overtime period.
Syracuse finished the game with 492 yards of total offense, 355 passing, and averaged 7.1 yards per play. It recorded 28 non-penalty first downs. The Rebels gave up more than 100 yards because of flags.
That performance wasn’t a fluke, though. It ranks No. 2 in the nation for passing yards (369.0 yards per game), No. 27 in scoring offense (35.8 points per game), T9 for total first downs (136) and No. 5 in third down conversion percentage (.550).
Meanwhile, the defense is average. It gives up 26.2 points per game, ranking No. 87 in the country and No. 13 in the ACC. Its red zone defense ranks T112 in the country, allowing opponents to score 94.1% of the time.
The Orange does well on third down defense, landing at No. 29 in the country (.322) but opponents have taken advantage on fourth down opportunities (.571).
This feels like a similar game to the one N.C. State just played and it’ll need to fire on all cylinders if it wants to prevent the first 0-3 ACC start since 2014.
Player to watch: Syracuse RB LeQuint Allen
When most people think of Syracuse’s offense, they think of quarterback Kyle McCord. He’s the second-best in the ACC, behind Miami’s Cam Ward, and one of the best in America. McCord ranks in the national Top 5 for half a dozen statistics, including completions per game, passing yards, total offense and passing yards per game. It would not be surprising to see him rack up another 300-plus yards against the Wolfpack.
But one underrated Syracuse player is running back LeQuint Allen.
Allen averages 71.6 rushing yards per game and he’s scored three touchdowns this season. The Orange’s offense relies heavily on McCord, for good reason, but Allen is an X factor for Syracuse.
The junior scored two of his three rushing touchdowns against UNLV, including the 1-yard game winner, but he’s also efficient in the pass game. Allen caught two touchdown passes against the Rebels and finished with a season-high 58 receiving yards. He scored one receiving TD in the opener against Ohio.
Allen ranks No. 6 in the ACC and No. 35 nationally for all-purpose yards per game (116.8).
McCord’s ability to find Allen through the air or with a handoff — and N.C. State’s ability to limit their success — could prove critical when the Orange come to Raleigh.
Vegas betting line
N.C. State has opened as a 2.5-point underdog to Syracuse next weekend, according to VegasInsider, with the initial over-under set at 52.5 points.
NC State vs Syracuse game info
Teams: NC State Wolfpack (3-3, 0-2 ACC) vs Syracuse Orange
Where: Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh
Date: Saturday
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Stream: fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream, Sling TV
Series history: The Wolfpack leads the series 13-3. It lost the most recent matchup in 2022, 24-9, on the road. N.C. State boasts a 7-3 record against the Orange since it joined the ACC in 2013.
Local News
Comments / 0