With a 34-27 victory over Louisiana Tech, No. 23 NC State football retained its place among college football’s top 25. As it enters a bye week before traveling to Boston College, let’s look at some takeaways from the last game:

Special teams rebound

After an unfortunate performance against Clemson, the special teams unit rebounded against the Bulldogs. Junior kicker Christopher Dunn made both his kicks, a 36- and a 29-yarder, and redshirt junior punter Trenton Gill averaged over 50 yards per punt with two getting downed inside the 20 — one inside the 5. Only one of Gill’s punts went for a touchback, and his performance was impressive enough to earn him ACC Specialist of the Week honors.

Defensive line impressing

NC State’s defensive line dominated Saturday, with Pro Football Focus rating the unit the best in the country in week five. Early and often, the line got after Kendall and overpowered the opposing offensive line as graduate end Daniel Joseph, graduate tackle Cory Durden, sophomore end Savion Jackson and freshman Davin Vann combined for 12 tackles, a sack and seven hurries. Even when they didn’t make the play, it was clear that the quartet was simply stronger than its opposition. If that can remain the case in ACC play, this defense will be scary.

So that’s what a decent opposing QB looks like

Louisiana Tech quarterback Austin Kendall’s been around the block with stops at West Virginia and Oklahoma before he settled into Ruston, Louisiana. Despite the small school, he’s a big-time talent and may be the best quarterback NC State’s faced so far this season. Will Rogers had a day against NC State in Starkville, Mississippi, throwing for 294 yards and two scores on 67% completions, but Kendall blew that out of the water with 341 yards and three touchdowns on six fewer attempts. While the secondary truly struggled as the game went on, its saving grace was its ability to create turnovers. Rogers didn’t throw a single interception against the Wolfpack but Kendall tossed two: one early to freshman corner Aydan White, who made a spectacular play undercutting a route, and sophomore safety Jakeen Harris, who ended the game by picking Kendall off in the end zone.

Doeren was pretty unhappy with the play of the cornerbacks in the second half after the win, but still, the group made enough plays to win the game.

Turnover margin

One of the greatest indicators for how well a team is playing is turnover margin and with the two turnovers the Wolfpack picked up Saturday, the team now has a season margin of +2. Credit to the defense, it’s doing a solid job of turning teams over, ranking No. 39 in that category, but the offense needs to take better care of the ball. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary is doing his part with 0 INTs in the past two games, and sophomore running back Bam Knight is keeping the rock safe after some fumble worries, but as ACC play continues, it’s imperative that the offense continues to keep the ball safe.

Cornerback of the future Aydan White?

Freshman cornerback Aydan White is in his second year with the Wolfpack, but he’s always impressive during his time on the field. From last year’s pivotal interception against a ranked Liberty squad to his great play Saturday, White’s definitely got the potential to be something special. Head coach Dave Doeren has mentioned that he sees White, along with Ingram and Smith, as a starting-caliber player. It’s not hard to see why, and given more time to develop, White may be the first secondary Pack Pro member since safety Josh Jones entered the league in 2017.