NC State Wolfpack football suffered a deflating 24-10 loss at Mississippi State Saturday evening in Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss.

It’s time for a final look at the contest with some Monday morning quarterbacking:

Mississippi State got the ball with 5:39 left in the first half at its own 17 and leading 7-3. The Pack was scheduled to receive the kickoff to start the second half, so a stop and a potential score could have been a huge momentum change.

Mississippi State though converted on third-and-seven and then third-and-10 to sustain its drive. An incomplete pass on third-and-seven from the NC State 39-yard line was coupled with a holding penalty on the Bulldogs. Rather than electing to take the 10-yard mark-off and make Mississippi State try to convert a third-and-17 at the 49, head coach Dave Doeren declined the penalty. Mississippi State's Mike Leach responded by going for it.

The Bulldogs converted on a 13-yard pass despite good coverage from freshman corner Aydan White on the play. Two snaps later, it was in the end zone for a 14-3 lead after a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Will Rogers to receiver Malik Heath with 1:09 left in the first half.

NC State crossed midfield to start its second half, but a costly fumble from Wolfpack sophomore running back Zonovan "Bam" Knight was recovered by the Bulldogs at the Mississippi State 46-yard line. This time the Bulldogs were more efficient on their way to what proved to be a backbreaking touchdown with 8:59 left in the third, giving them a 21-3 advantage.

1. Tackling: A key for NC State's defense going into the game was making sure to limit Mississippi State's yards after the catch. Pro Football Focus (PFF) credited the Bulldogs with 158 yards after the catch on Saturday, way down from the 229 it registered in week one. It was also below the 180.0 average it had per game in 2020, year one in Leach's Air Raid offense.

“I’m taking a little comfort knowing that we’re definitely gonna play some teams that don’t tackle as well as NC State,” Leach said after the game. “They may or may not be more talented, but they won’t tackle as well as NC State.”

2. Winning in the trenches early: There were a lot of complaints about NC State not being well prepared for the game, but statistically that does not appear to be true.

In fact, NC State dominated the first quarter in every way but the scoreboard, which would suggest the Wolfpack was ready but just didn't seize its opportunities. Going into the second quarter, NC State had a 114-5 edge in total yards and was averaging 5.2 yards per play compared to Mississippi State's paltry 0.6.

3. Stopping the run: It's not a significant part of the game plan to control Mississippi State's ground game, but it is worth noting that the 25 yards allowed on the ground when adjusting for sacks would have been the second fewest for the Bulldogs in all of last season when it played 10 SEC games, including against Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and LSU, plus a bowl game versus a ranked Tulsa squad.

1. Seizing the first quarter: Giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown is hard to accept, especially on the opening kick of the game when you would hope to just boot it out of the end zone.

Then there is being intercepted in the end zone and missing a field goal, albeit a 48-yard attempt. That misfire came after a muffed punt by Mississippi State gave the Pack the ball at the Bulldogs' 47-yard line, meaning NC State did not cash in a golden opportunity.

The bottom line is instead of being down 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, NC State should have been up something in the neighborhood of 10-0 the way the opening frame unfolded and driving for more to start the second.

2. Offense in second and third quarters: Simply put, it was anemic. NC State had just 16 total yards in the second quarter and only two first downs. The third quarter was not much better with 64 total yards and three first downs. After averaging 5.2 yards per play in the first quarter, that number dipped down to 3.9 yards for the game going into the fourth.

Whether it was ineffective running and passing games or poor play-calling and game management, it was not working.

3. Defense in second and third quarters: It is very difficult to pin this loss on the defense after it surrendered only 17 points itself and allowed a total of 316 yards in the game. However, Mississippi State was able to drive for two touchdowns — one in the second and the other in the third — and the Pack needed a fourth-down stop to prevent another potential score.

After gaining five total yards in the first quarter, Mississippi State combined for 252 yards in the second and third. Had it kept that pace up for an entire game, it would have piled up 500-plus yards.

NC State’s offensive line vs. Mississippi State’s defensive front

It was not good for the Pack. Its run blocking score of 46.0 by PFF would have been the second lowest for all of last season, topping only a 43.1 at Pittsburgh. NC State allowed five sacks and 11 overall tackles for loss while averaging just 2.9 yards per rush when removing the hits on the quarterback.

Mississippi State’s offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front

It is not like Mississippi State pushed around the Wolfpack. The Bulldogs, who don't really try to run the football, were still ineffective in the running game. That said, NC State only had one sack against an offensive line noted for not holding up well in pass protection. Thus the Bulldogs get the win here.

Through two games, the pass rush has been one of the few glaring issues for the defense, which has recorded just one sack.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. Mississippi State’s secondary

Some dropped passes probably hurt the Wolfpack, and redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary missed a couple of opportunities on deep passes where NC State wideouts got past the secondary.

This was a draw, but it could have been a win for NC State with better execution.

Mississippi State's wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

Considering the offense and grading on a curve because of that, it was not a bad performance for the secondary. PFF gave the Pack a 74.8 grade in coverage. For some perspective, only twice was NC State higher in 2020 and one of those was a 74.9 (against Liberty).

You have to accept in defending the Air Raid offense that the quarterback is likely to complete around two-thirds of his passes, but NC State did a good job of keeping most everything in front. However, a few costly passes leading to third- and fourth-down conversions kept this from being a clean win for the Pack.

Quarterbacks

Rogers was effective, completing 33 of 49 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns and most importantly not turning it over. Leary posted good numbers, but that is partially misleading because of a couple late drives against presumably soft coverage. Leary finished 30-of-49 passing for 303 yards and a score with a late pick.

Rogers gets the edge, partially thanks to an offensive line that allowed him to be more comfortable than Leary.

Running backs

The edge goes to Mississippi State, who received 88 total yards from Dillon Johnson and another 39 from Jo'quavious Marks. The vaunted NC State duo of Knight and junior Ricky Person Jr. combined for just 66 total yards.

Tight ends/fullbacks

Mississippi State did not involve one, so the edge goes to NC State. That said, the Pack was only able to get 12 yards on three pass completions to the combination of sixth-year senior Dylan Parham and redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix.

Those two plus redshirt freshman Christopher Toudle all also received subpar run blocking scores, too, from PFF.

Special teams

Special teams left a deficit of 10 points on the board for NC State, which is why Mississippi State gets a big edge here. The kickoff return for a score and junior Christopher Dunn's missed 48-yarder were key parts of the first quarter.

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