In a game that saw a slow start followed by a strong finish on both sides of the ball, the NC State football team beat Marshall 37-20 for its first victory of the year Saturday. There’s certainly plenty of good, bad and ugly to digest from this one, so let’s get to it.
The Good: Offense — Following a strong showing in a season-opening loss to South Carolina, the Wolfpack’s offense was again impressive in the win over Marshall. Following a sluggish first quarter, which we’ll get to later, the team really settled in and got going, scoring 27 unanswered points for the victory.
Redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley followed up his school record-setting performance against the Gamecocks with another big game to lead the offense, finishing with 29 completions on 36 attempts for 341 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a whopping 187.6 passer rating. Finley is the first quarterback since current Los Angeles Chargers signal caller Philip Rivers in 2003 to post back-to-back 300-yard passing games to start the season.
The Pack’s starter really spread the ball around in this one as well. Sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Harmon had a monster game, racking up nine catches for 121 yards, his second-straight 100-yard game. He also had a score, again showing off his ability to use his size and go up for contested catches.
After a costly fumble and quiet game last week, the team got last year’s leading receiver, redshirt junior Stephen Louis involved as well. Louis picked up five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown, getting the all-important first score to awaken the Pack in the first quarter. Louis showed off his speed in this one, leading the Wolfpack’s receivers with 14.6 yards per catch. Senior all-purpose back Jaylen Samuels also made his mark again, with five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, including a spectacular juggling grab in the third quarter.
Last week, largely due to an inability to establish the run, Finley was forced to throw over 60 passes. This week, with a more balanced offense, NC State was able to nearly cut his pass attempt number in half. The team got its ground game going, picking up 144 rushing yards, led by junior back Reggie Gallaspy with 12 carries for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Continuing to find that balanced offense will be vital for the team moving forward as it prepares for conference play.
The Bad: Special Teams — Improving slightly from its ugly finish last week, special teams again finds its way into the negative portion of this column, and continues to be a red flag for a promising Wolfpack team. While the team improved its kickoff coverage in the first half, it was again an issue in the second. The team allowed multiple big returns to set Marshall up with good field position, and was fortunate to have another kickoff touchdown wiped out by a penalty. After the game, kickoff coverage was an area that was specifically called out by head coach Dave Doeren as one he was not happy with that needed to improve.
The kicking game continues to be, at best, a mixed back as well. Graduate student Carson Wise did connect on his lone field-goal attempt in this one, but he also missed a PAT at the end of the first half. Those kicks have to be automatic, and could be the difference between a win and a loss against tougher competition.
Two games into this young season, it’s fair to say that special teams is the number one area of concern for the Wolfpack. It was not, however, the worst facet of the game against Marshall. That dubious honor goes to…
The Ugly: Literally anything and everything about the first quarter- Is this cheating? Maybe, but it’s my column and I make the rules. Calling NC State’s opening 15 minutes of this game ugly is an understatement. The team was completely flat on offense, and could not get anything going. The Thundering Herd outgained the Pack 161-88 yards on offense in the game’s opening frame… and 46 yards of the Pack’s total came on a 46-yard scramble for Finley on State’s first offensive play.
The defense was abysmal as well, and fortunate to allow only 10 points. The inexperienced secondary was torched by Marshall quarterback Chase Litton and receiver Tyre Brady, who set a Carter Finley Stadium record with 11 catches for 248 yards and a score. The Pack allowed passing plays of 33, 23 and 15 yards on Marshall’s first scoring drive, and even the team’s vaunted rush defense struggled, allowing running back Keion Davis to go 53 yards on a single carry on the next drive.
The Pack eventually settled in on both sides of the ball, but it can’t afford starts like that. Simply put, the team was able to hang around and stay in the game largely due to facing an inferior opponent in Marshall. If the team were to start like that against, say, Florida State, it could easily find itself down by three touchdowns through 15 minutes of play.
