NC State football’s defense was not perfect in a week three win over Marshall. The Wolfpack completely blew its coverage on an 82-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and missed some key tackles. The Pack also forced three turnovers, only allowed 13 points (one Marshall touchdown came on a kick return fumble) and made the big plays when it mattered.
“They executed,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “There was a couple times when we didn’t and it hurt us. It’s just playing 11 guys on the film. That’s all I talked about this week was focusing on doing your job, watch the film, making sure your position group does the things they’re supposed to do. When we do that, we’re really good on defense. I thought that happened a lot tonight.”
The Pack’s defense started the game strong, forcing three Marshall punts. The aforementioned long touchdown pass was the only blemish in an otherwise strong first half, and NC State held the Thundering herd to just 80 yards and no points on its other drives in the opening frame.
That was nearly not the case, as late in the half, Marshall was driving with a chance to put points on the board going into the half. The Thundering Herd elected to go for it on fourth and 2 from the 30. Quarterback Isaiah Green kept it to run, attempting to pick up a key first down.
The Pack had other ideas, as junior safety Tim Kidd-Glass knocked the ball loose, and junior corner Nick McCloud recovered the fumble and returned it to the 44 with 30 seconds left in the half. That led to a Wolfpack field goal, and six-point (at least) swing going into the break.
“I think it’s a huge as a young defensive group,” graduate linebacker Germaine Pratt said. “But we always had confidence going against a great offense during the spring and fall camp. So I think it’s just showcasing it, showing that we’re able to make turnovers and big plays on defense.”
By far the defense’s biggest play of the game came in the third quarter. Following a three and out by the offense, Marshall got the ball back down 10 with a chance to cut the lead to one score.
With the Herd facing three and 9 from its 44 and needing big play to keep the drive going, the Pack brought the pressure on Green. He rolled to his right away from the pass rush and threw a hurried, floating pass over the head of his intended receiver (who was well covered)… right into the hands of redshirt junior safety Jarius Morehead, who cut back to make the pick and took it 57 yards to the house to put the Pack up 37-20.
“I think he was throwing a vert,” Morehead said. “And I saw the receivers retreat back because the quarterback started scrambling. I just thought I would read his eyes and follow where the ball was going.”
Of course, NC State had seen this Marshall offense a year before and learned lesson about how dangerous it could be. The Herd was without quarterback Chase Litton, who declared early for the NFL draft, but returned most of its skill position players.
Marshall carved up the Pack for 286 yards in last year’s first half before the Pack pitched a second-half shutout.
In last season’s game, Marshall receiver Tyre Brady had 11 catches for a Carter-Finley Stadium record 248 yards and a score. In Saturday’s game, blanketed by McCloud he had just three catches for 25 yards.
“[Brady’s] targeted on 50 percent of their passes, so if you let him go off, as we found out last year, it’s a tough day,” Doeren said. “I thought our kids, Nick McCloud in particular, really battled. They did some things where they moved [Brady] around and make it a little bit more difficult, but he’s a really good wide receiver.”
Sophomore corner Chris Ingram had the Pack’s final turnover, a fourth-quarter interception that essentially sealed the win.The general consensus was that the Pack’s defense would take a step back in 2018 after losing a whopping eight starters from last season, several to the NFL. If Saturday’s performance, a week after allowing just seven points to Georgia State, is anything to judge by, this team has a chance to match, or even exceed, last year’s defensive performance.
“We’ll continue to get better,” Pratt said. “We haven’t reached the highest point that we want. There’s some mistakes on the field that we need to correct, me as an individual and as a whole as a defense. So I think we’ve just got to keep on improving and getting better. And then being better than last year. We had great pieces last year; we’ve got some great young talent that’s really good. They’re really out there stepping up and making big plays for us.”
