Last Saturday, NC State Wolfpack football crushed Furman, 45-7. We go beyond the traditional box score with the help of Rivals' partnership with Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Three observations
1. The team received a huge overall grade. The 90.8 score was seventh best in the archives of PFF's game grades for NC State going back through the 2014 season.
2. The offense scores scored bid. NC State graded out at 83.1 offensively, the best since it had an 83.8 in the 2018 regular season finale against East Carolina. The Pack scored season-highs in every category except running, where it had a 66.4, shy of the 78.7 it achieved against South Florida in the opener.
3. Defense's grade was very good, too. The Pack had an overall grade of 74.8 on defense, led by an 83.6 mark on rush defense, which was a season-high. That said, its tackling (70.5) and pass rush (51.8) scores were both season-lows, although the former is still a good mark.
Through three weeks, NC State's overall score of 82.5 on defense ranks 26th out of 130 FBS teams nationally on PFF. Its run defense grade of 90.4 is tied for ninth and the tackling score of 76.5 is 14th.
