On Saturday, West Virginia defeated the Wolfpack 44-27 in Morgantown, West Virginia. In the second half, the offense struggled to move the ball and was only able to muster two field goals. Poor play all around hurt the Wolfpack, and if NC State wants to have a strong performance in ACC play, it will need to fix its mistakes.
Quarterback (Grade: C-)
In his first road game as QB1, redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay’s inability to consistently complete passes downfield was exposed. The Raleigh native completed only 23 out of his 48 passes on the day, earning a rough 47.9% completion rate. McKay did not turn the ball over, which was a good sign, as the quarterback has yet to throw an interception on the season.
Pack fans still expected more out of McKay on Saturday, and unfortunately for them, he did not perform anywhere near the level needed to leave Morgantown with a win.
Running Backs (Grade: B-)
Freshman Zonovan Knight and sophomore Ricky Person Jr. handled almost all of the carries Saturday, with Knight rushing for 72 yards on 12 carries, and Person rushing for 52 yards on 11 carries. Knight averaging six yards a carry was a bright spot for the Wolfpack offense, and his run in the first half of 26 yards was a team high on the day. The freshman has emerged as the number one back at the moment for NC State.
Person on the other hand, worked well too, averaging 4.7 yards a carry. If the passing game could’ve been more consistent, these two could’ve had more opportunities to make a bigger impact.
Wide Receivers (Grade: B)
In a game where McKay struggled to connect with Wolfpack wideouts, junior Emeka Emezie reeled in a career-high 12 catches for 103 yards. Especially in the first half, Emezie was a dominant target that looked like the receiver that could fill the role that Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers left him to take on this team. McKay looked almost exclusively Emezie’s way, targeting him on 23 of his 48 passes.
Redshirt sophomore Thayer Thomas had a profound impact on the game with two scoring plays. In the first quarter he caught his only ball of the game, an 8-yard touchdown pass from McKay on third down to tie the game at seven at the time. Thomas also threw a touchdown pass in the second quarter on a trick play. Graduate transfer Tabari Hines and redshirt freshman Devin Carter each had two catches to round out the rest of the receiving crew for NC State.
Tight End (Grade: B)
Another bright spot for the Wolfpack offense was redshirt junior Cary Angeline, who also had a career high in receiving yards with 74. The transfer from Southern California, in his second season with the Wolfpack, caught his second touchdown of the season on the trick play from Thomas. Angeline was also a good presence on the offensive line blocking for the running backs.
Offensive Line (Grade: C+)
Throughout the game, the NC State offensive line was unable to handle West Virginia’s blitz packages. McKay had defenders in his face all afternoon against the Mountaineers. The offensive line allowed a season-high three sacks.
The offensive line was also called for holding and false starts a few times during a game in which NC State racked up 88 yards worth of penalties. In order for McKay and the rushing attack to be more successful, it starts up front with the linemen, such as redshirt junior Joe Sculthorpe and junior Joshua Fedd-Jackson, to control the line of scrimmage.
Next Up
The Wolfpack offense will have its chance to redeem itself under the lights Saturday, Sept. 21 in Carter-Finley Stadium for its last nonconference matchup of the regular season against Ball State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPNU with coverage from @TechSports on Twitter.
