North Carolina State coach Dave Doren had a football game scheduled for Saturday night, but couldn’t help but watch plenty of other games.
The one in Winston Salem. The Clemson Wake Forest Thriller was his 51-45 victory over the Tigers in the second overtime.
strange? Yes, Doren was more than that. His Wolfpack is headed to Clemson next week for an ACC game that could do all the trimmings of college football after he breezed 41-10 in Connecticut. Clemson’s offense, which Doren said has improved significantly from last year.
Looking at the pack’s 2022 schedule, we could see a good chance of going into the ACC opener with the Tigers going 4-0. East He Carolina, Charleston Southern, Texas Tech, and Saturday He UConn were handled, and each “W” was earned differently.
The win for ECU was a scare and a one-point escape in Greenville. Charleston Southern was a fiasco. Texas Tech was a showcase under the lights at Carter-Finley with a quality 27-14 win. UConn then took a predictable 41-10 win at home.
There were several aspects to Saturday’s victory that gave Doeren confidence in what could be the pack’s biggest regular-season game. Indeed, it was against the UConn team that he was badly outnumbered. But there were good things in the pack. “I think we’re hitting as many cylinders as we want,” said Doren.
Three reasons North Carolina State should feel better before the game at Clemson:
Devin Leary got his rhythm back
Puck quarterback Devin Leary made every throw on Saturday, had good reading and good judgment, and was delivering the ball on time. And the wide receivers did their part, catching some tough throws for great catches.
“It was nice to see Devin get into the rhythm,” Doren said. The ball spread to many receivers.
Devin Carter scored his first touchdown of the season. Porter Rooks and Keyon Lesane scored the first touchdowns of their Wolfpack careers. Leary was sharp, scoring 320 yards on 32 of 44 passes and he scored 4, tying his 75-yard streak with Thomas for the longest in the game’s first snap.
“I think it was perfect timing,” Carter said. “We work so hard in practice that whenever we practice and it[translates]into a game, it just clicks. I think that’s the credit to our practice. ”
swagger defense
Wolfpack linebacker Drake Thomas said he got to see a bit of a Clemson Wake game on TV, as did his head coach. Both sides had to impress with 371 yards and 5 points in the shootout against Hartman.
Clemson finished with 559 yards on total offense, but had 500 yards and 38 points in regulation.
“I think the quarterback played really well today and it’s the best I’ve seen him play,” Doren said. “He was accurate and the players played well for him and defended him. ”
But the Wolfpack’s defense is no different, Thomas said.
“We take pride in the way we play,” he said. “We want to play aggressive, we want to play hard, we want to play physically.But we also want to play with confidence. And it’s the key to who we are.”
No worries about serious injuries
The pack is probably as healthy as Doren would have hoped after four games, but his heart rate may have spiked late Saturday. You can put your feet in.
Running back Jordan Houston, who was injured in the game against Texas Tech, has been ruled out of the game and will be available next week, Doren said. Injured foot Nickel Tyler-Baker-Williams continues his ‘days’, but he may be ready.
Running back Demme Sumo-Kernvey, who gained 49 yards on four carries on Saturday, had a sore postgame, but it should work and the pack has to get bruised against the Tigers. wax.
“We feel well positioned,” said Doren.
Over his 30+ year career with The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered beats by NC State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina. Currently in his 11th season with the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Winner of numerous writing awards at the state and national level, Alexander covered the relocation of the Hurricanes to North Carolina in 1997 and Stanley, the site of his Cup in 2006. He was part of The N&O’s coverage. did.
