A crafty quarterback scramble followed by a penalty. An abrupt lack of ingenuity after an explosive play. Three promising drives spoiled by turnovers. Countless defensive blunders on third down.
For every burst of brilliance came a corresponding flash of incompetence from NC State football.
Against Syracuse, incompetence prevailed.
A glut of self-inflicted wounds sentenced the Wolfpack to its fourth loss of the season and a 3-4 record as it fell short of a comeback under the lights of Carter-Finley Stadium. Three costly turnovers in Syracuse territory headlined the Pack’s bumbling 24-17 loss in Raleigh.
Despite the offensive mistakes and staggering amount of third down conversions from Syracuse, the Wolfpack attempted to pull off a late comeback after trailing 24-7 in the fourth quarter. A 75-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman wide receiver Noah Rogers and a 72-yard pass to redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers provided glimpses of hope for the few NC State fans who remained at Carter-Finley.
But in the end — like its loss last week to Wake Forest — the red-and-white couldn’t get out of its own way.
“There are some positives, and there were some positives last week,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “We’re just not getting the satisfaction of a win from these things because we’re beating ourselves too much. That has to get fixed. Whether it’s a costly penalty … or a turnover, the fastest way to lose a game is to beat yourself.”
Despite fourth-quarter sparks from Rogers and Smothers, NC State’s early mistakes, primarily its three turnovers, came back to haunt the Pack. The home side couldn’t capitalize with a touchdown after Smothers’ big play, despite earning a first and goal from the three-yard line. After, the Wolfpack simply ran out of time, taking its second-straight loss and falling below .500 for the first time since 2013 through the first seven games of the season — Doeren’s first season with NC State.
“I’m proud of how our guys finished,” Doeren said. “We were down, and to see them come back like that shows me they got a lot of fight. So I am proud of you for that, for coming back and fighting and giving us a chance to have one possession game there down the stretch.”
Syracuse’s high-flying, air-it-out offense played as advertised. The Orange kept the ball out of the hands of freshman quarterback CJ Bailey, running over 30 more plays than the Pack and holding the ball for almost 14 more minutes. Syracuse converted eight of 15 third downs while NC State converted just one of six.
Still, the Wolfpack hung in it. The home side held opposing quarterback Kyle McCord and his offense to 10 first-half points and put up seven of its own via a 14-yard strike to junior tight end Justin Joly. However, by the end of the third quarter, NC State lost out on 21 potential points after turnovers deep into Syracuse territory.
The first came in the second quarter on a fumble from sophomore running back Kendrick Raphel. The second came on a third-quarter strip sack on Bailey and the third occurred on an overthrown pass from Bailey that resulted in an interception.
“Three times we just marched right down the field, did a really good job moving the football, converted on those third downs, made some plays,” Doeren said. “Each time we got down, it was a different player. And so we got to get back to protecting the football. That’s how you win games.”
While NC State committed three backbreaking turnovers, McCord and company put up 14 second-half points to pull away from the Pack. Penalties and an inability to quell Syracuse’s attack compounded with the turnovers. By the fourth quarter, NC State needed a spark to pull itself out of a 17-point hole.
Bailey’s improving connections with weapons like Rogers, Smothers and Joly helped provide that spark. Ultimately, though, it wasn’t enough to pull off the comeback.
“It’s a problem,” Bailey said. “We can’t keep turning the ball over. I can’t keep turning the ball over — me, personally. So that’s what I’m telling myself. And I’m telling the offense, keep playing because we’re playing really good.”
After its third ACC loss of the season, NC State will continue conference play as it travels to California to take on one of its new ACC counterparts in the Golden Bears.
Sticking together through adversity — the toughest adversity NC State has experienced in a while — is crucial if the Pack has any chance of making a bowl game this season.
“It’s tough when things like this happen,” said graduate linebacker Devon Betty. “For most teams, the team starts to break up, separate, go their own way. Everybody starts doing their own thing. But I feel like here, we’ve been doing enough stuff together to know that we’re all got and we’re all need. So at the end of the day, we gotta stick together and move on and get back to work.”
NC State will clash with California at 3:30 EST on Saturday, Oct. 19.
