NC State football entered its matchup against Wake Forest with only one victory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, since 2003, but it was ready to defeat its demons of the past, taking down the Demon Deacons in a dominant 26-6 victory.
The Wolfpack put together another stifling defensive performance, and graduate quarterback Brennan Armstrong was reinserted as the starter to lead NC State to its third straight win. Here are some key takeaways from the Pack’s win over Wake Forest.
Armstrong’s redemption
There has been outside drama surrounding NC State’s quarterback situation, starting in the offseason when Armstrong transferred to NC State. Some fans thought sophomore quarterback MJ Morris should’ve been given the starting job, while others thought Armstrong’s experience would benefit the Pack.
Armstrong began the season as the starter, but a rough stretch of games led head coach Dave Doeren to insert Morris into the role. Morris started four games for the Pack, but after last week’s win against Miami, he shocked everyone when he decided to redshirt for the rest of the season, which meant Armstrong would be the signal-caller for NC State once again.
Instead of quitting on his team after getting benched, the Virginia transfer put his head down and continued to work. The graduate quarterback led the team in rushing with 96 yards, 86 of which came in the Pack’s dominant first half. Armstrong sought out contact on most of his runs, including his rushing touchdown when he lowered his shoulder on the way to the endzone.
While he wasn’t called upon often to throw the ball, Armstrong was extremely efficient in the passing game, completing over 70 percent of his passes and no turnovers. His best pass of the day came on the first drive when he rolled out to his left and found redshirt sophomore Julian Gray for a 20-yard touchdown.
This was just the beginning of Armstrong’s redemption arc, but the Wolfpack signal-caller is a great story of resilience and an example of how to handle a tough situation like a grown man.
Ground and pound
Running the ball was offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s gameplan from the jump, and it worked to perfection as NC State rushed for a season-high 268 yards on 50 attempts. This was a surprising result — the Pack entered the game as one of the worst rushing teams in the ACC, while the Demon Deacons were in the top half of the conference in rush yards against.
Most of these yards came in the first half as Armstrong and company accumulated 217 yards on the ground, which was more than NC State had in eight different games this season. Sixty-five of those yards came on the first drive when freshman receiver Kevin Concepcion took a reverse to the Wake Forest 19-yard line. Concepcion ended the game with five carries for 86 yards.
It wasn’t just Armstrong and Concepcion that enjoyed success on the ground; freshman running back Kendrick Raphael and redshirt junior running back Delbert Mimms III combined for 89 rushing yards.
Wolfpack fans should expect this type of offense for the rest of the season with Armstrong under center, especially next week against a Virginia Tech team that is near the bottom of the ACC in rush yards allowed per game.
Best in the nation
Since its loss to Duke, the Wolfpack defense has been one of the best units in the country under defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. The defense was connected for the entire game, shutting out Wake Forest through the first three quarters.
It looked like the Pack was going to pitch a shutout before allowing a late touchdown, but quickly made up for it when senior linebacker Jaylon Scott intercepted the ensuing two-point conversion and took it to the house.
Like it has all year, the defense clutched up on third down as the Demon Deacons converted just one third down on 12 attempts. The key reason for this was the Pack’s suffocating run defense that allowed just seven yards for an average of .4 yards per carry. Graduate linebacker Payton Wilson was key in stuffing the run with two tackles for loss.
Wilson and company also recorded their third straight game with multiple takeaways as they forced an interception and a fumble. Over its last three games, the Pack has forced eight total turnovers and allowed just three touchdowns. It would be hard-pressed to find a defense playing at a higher level than Gibson’s unit at the moment.
