NC State started the season as well as they could have hoped in a 49-21 victory over the Troy Trojans in Raleigh.
Though the claim can be made “well, it’s Troy” there were plenty of other ACC teams that played inferior opponents and took advantage.
Wake Forest flexed its muscle against Elon 41-3. Georgia Tech scored five touchdowns in the first quarter against Alcorn State. Clemson and Florida State got out of the gate with squash match wins.
NC State Week 1 Takeaways
Plenty of teams around the country had a so-called “gimme” game that turned out to not be such a gimme after all. NC State went out and took care of their business, and made no waves good or bad. This non-conference slate should do just that. Not lighting the world on fire, and as long as the Wolfpack wins, these early games will come and go with little harm.
Injuries
Speaking of harm, NC State avoided the contagious injury bug.
It seemed like every headline on sports tickers last Saturday and Sunday was about Tim Tebow or a college football star going down with an injury.
BYU’s Taysom Hill: out.
Notre Dame’s Tarean Folston: out.
College football was hit hard in its first weekend, and several players are out before they even got a chance.
The ACC had its share of bad luck as well. The most serious was Clemson’s Mike Williams, who suffered a frightening neck injury. Good fortune was shining on Mr. Williams at Memorial Stadium. That looked much worse than it turned out to be.
The saddest ACC injury football competition wise has to be Pitt’s James Conner. This young man ran for 1,765 yards last season. He came in a legitimate threat to repeat as ACC Player of the Year, a Doak Walker candidate, and you never know, he could’ve made it to New York if the Panthers got seven wins. But, Conner went out as well with an MCL injury.
No matter how advanced training gets, or the amount of hours spent in the weight room, on the practice field, two a days, you name it, there is no substitute for live honest to God football. Injuries are an unavoidable part of this game, and we hope it doesn’t change the outcome of a kid’s real life forever.
NC State will inevitably get bitten by the injury bug, but for now, they are just short a starting running back due to suspension.
No Thornton, No Problem
Which brings me to Matt Dayes. While Shadrach Thornton sat out of the opener due to suspension, Dayes proved he is more than capable of sliding into the starting running back job and carrying the load. Dayes carried the ball 24 times, for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
The offensive load consisted of 41:34 minutes in time of possession compared to Troy’s 18:26.
This stat jumps out at me most of all, even more than rushing yards or completion percentage (more on that below). The Wolfpack held the ball for almost three quarters of the game, giving the Trojans no chance to sustain a drive.
Jacoby Brissett, full back Jaylen Samuels, Dayes and the offense’s ability to keep the ball out of Troy’s hands showed that NC State will get through their first two games just fine without Thornton.
Jacoby Brissett
Brissett was rock solid. His 21 of 23 (91%) was the best in week 1 for any quarterback in the FBS. He threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns. The attack was extremely balanced the entire game, which will be a key to the Wolfpack’s success this season. You can’t ask for much more from a quarterback in the first game.
Room For Improvement
While the time of possession didn’t give Troy much time to work, the Trojans didn’t need to sustain drives when the Pack were giving them quick scores. The only concern for Wolfpack fans in this early barometer is the defense. The Wolfpack gave up 305 total yards of offense on the day.
Troy hung in for a quarter, which is fine, even expected in a season opener. In the first quarter, Troy took two minutes to drive 75 yards for a touchdown.
The score at the half should have been 28-7, but Troy ran two plays, went 82 yards, and scored a touchdown in the last 30 seconds.
These long plays don’t take away from the performance of the day, but they will come back to bite NC State against tougher competition down the road. No matter how long you’ve got the ball, if Troy only needs 30 seconds to score, there’s cause for concern.
If you take away the desperation drive to end the first half, NC State wins 49-14. But, you may not have Brissett in the game throwing touchdowns if you’re up big in the third. We can scrutinize and play “what if?” all day long, but bottom line, NC State won and can move on to the next one.
Get Through Non-Conference
“Do no harm” is the perfect way to envision NC State’s early games.
Given that NC State’s non-conference consists of three Group of Five teams and one FCS, the best-case scenario is these next three games come and go. State has managed one game unscathed, and is sneaking up in national rankings. NC State landed in the “others receiving votes” section of both the AP and Coaches Poll this week.
NC State, along with plenty of teams, can take advantage of other schools getting unwanted national attention. The Pack got a win, covered the spread, and did nothing to show they can’t meet the expectations people have for them this year.
Other teams weren’t as fortunate to avoid bad press. Some may say any publicity is good publicity, but tell that to Texas, Kansas, or Stanford.
Texas’ offense was so inept in their 38-3 shellacking in South Bend that coach Charlie Strong took play-calling duties from assistant head coach Shawn Watson.
Kansas remained in contention to be called the worst FBS team by losing to South Dakota State in heartbreaking fashion.
Preseason number 21 Stanford took a nosedive in Evanston to the tune of two field goals in a 16-6 loss at Northwestern, rendering Desmond Howard’s National Champion pick at the very least confounding.
Even the SEC wasn’t immune to early face plants. Vanderbilt (although a home underdog) dropped its home opener to Western Kentucky.
Some non-conference schedules are high risk/high reward. NC State is in a low risk/low reward scenario. But it does make every one of these four early games a must-win lest the season burst before the bubble has grown.
Week 2
The FCS comes to Raleigh with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels coming down 460 miles to face the first of their two FBS teams this season. EKU gets Kentucky on October 3.
Eastern Kentucky will not be a pushover. They have a knack for playing the FBS close and took out Miami (OH) last year. Miami finished 2014 with a 2-10 record. The Wolfpack should handle the Colonels in Raleigh and be halfway to a perfect start before the ACC begins.
Main Photo: N.C. State running back Matt Dayes (21) escapes Troy defenders including Lonnie Gosha (98) during the first half at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Ethan Hyman/Getty Images
