With only seven points scored in the first three quarters against Louisville (4-4, 2-3 ACC), NC State (6-2, 3-1 ACC) finally figured it out, scoring 21 points in the final quarter. In a less-than-stellar performance on the road at Miami, the offense is struggling to put points on the board early. With six drives in a row ending in punts, the Pack’s dry spell had notable positions to blame.
Devin Leary
On paper, redshirt sophomore Devin Leary had a pretty solid game. He went 25 for 36 in passing, throwing for 317 yards and four touchdowns to end the game. He was also only sacked once.
However, much of this offense was spurred in the last quarter. Leary only had one touchdown and 202 passing yards in the first three quarters. While he has stayed reliable and continues to avoid interceptions, the passing game has to be more consistent. His fourth quarter performance was spectacular nonetheless.
Grade: B+
Running backs
In Miami, NC State’s one-two punch in the backfield had it rough, only gaining 70 yards and not seeing the endzone. This home game against Louisville was not much different, collecting only 68 yards and zero touchdowns once more. Sophomore running back Zonovan Knight rushed 11 times, gaining only 26 positive yards and averaging just over 2 yards per carry.
Junior running back Ricky Person Jr did only slightly better, gaining 30 yards on eight carries, with one play covering 17 yards. However, Person also lost nine yards in the backfield, partly due to the predictability of the Pack’s run offense. Person slightly made up for the lack of rushing with his catching, gathering three receptions for 45 yards.
NC State has two stellar running backs as we have seen in the past, but when a quarterback is hot, a coach will stick to what is working. Running the ball was not working this past weekend.
Grade: D
Wide receivers
To nobody’s surprise, Senior receiver Emeka Emezie had the most yardage of any receiver of the game, going 91 yards on only five receptions, including the first touchdown of the game for the Pack. Three other receivers hauled in scoring receptions, including graduate student C.J. Riley with his second touchdown of the season.
Redshirt sophomore receiver Devin Carter improved from the Miami game, catching four targets and going for 43 yards. He also hauled in one of the three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
Redshirt junior slot receiver Thayer Thomas often dominates, but was mediocre against the Cardinals, catching only three passes and going 16 yards.
The load was split pretty evenly for a lot of receivers, and there was plenty of improvement from the previous game.
Grade: B
Offensive line
Good news: The offensive line only allowed one sack against Leary. Bad news: Knight and Person both combined for 12 lost yards behind the line of scrimmage. The line has been average so far this season, and only had a false start in the entire game.
The discipline on the line helped the Wolfpack, and did not cost any big plays like in Miami, when a touchdown was negated.
Grade: B-
