For the second straight week, NC State football rolled over an overmatched opponent, this time shutting out Western Carolina 41-0. It’s time for a final look at the contest with some Monday morning quarterbacking:

Key moment of the game:

It came on NC State’s second drive of the second quarter. Surprisingly, the Wolfpack was only up 3-0 when it took over at its own 35-yard line with 10:45 left in the first half.

On the first play of the possession, redshirt sophomore quarterback Matthew McKay completed an 8-yard pass to freshman receiver Cecil Powell, who was getting his first action on offense after being recruited to play safety.

A facemask penalty on WCU added 15 yards to the play, moving NC State to the WCU 42. From that point on, all McKay did was hand off. First, freshman Zonovan "Bam" Knight ran twice for a combined 13 yards. Then sophomore Ricky Person Jr. rushed four times for the remaining 29 yards needed for the score.

At that point, NC State committed to its running game for the remainder of the afternoon and dominated.

Three things that worked:

1. Running the football

The numbers bear it out. NC State ran for 309 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per rush. The trio of Knight, Person and freshman Jordan Houston combined for 36 carries for 242 yards and four scores, and Knight became the first ball carrier to go over 100 (119 yards on 18 runs) in a game this season.

2. Defense

It was announced before the game that Western Carolina senior quarterback Tyrie Adams, the school’s all-time leader in total yards and the preseason Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, was suspended and wouldn’t play. For some perspective, against UNC last season Adams threw for 290 yards and ran for 104 yards and two scores.

So NC State should have shut down an already inferior opponent now without its top weapon, but credit the defense for doing its job. Western Carolina had a meager 106 total yards and never reached the red zone.

3. Using depth

For the second straight week, NC State was able to get snaps for a lot of players. Thirty-three players on offense played at least one snap (32 were in for at least five snaps). On defense, 27 Wolfpackers were in for at least three plays.

A week ago against ECU, 23 players on defense played double-digit snaps, and offensively 31 performers participated in multiple plays.

Three things that did not work:

1. First quarter offense

Against better opponents, NC State cannot afford to perform like it did offensively in the first quarter. The Pack had just 57 total yards and two first downs. McKay was only 3-of-6 passing for 25 yards, and all NC State could muster was a 32-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Christopher Dunn.

For a second straight week, third downs were an issue, especially early in the game. NC State started 0 for 4 before converting. Against ECU, the Pack was just 1 of 8 on third downs going into the fourth quarter.

2. Throwing downfield

Head coach Dave Doeren did not mince words when it came to the downfield passing attack: it needs to improve significantly.

“It has to get a lot better,” Doeren admitted. “You are not going to run the ball for 300 yards when you start playing these ACC teams if you can’t throw it down the field.”

3. Kickoffs

Doeren said after the game that in two years he has never seen redshirt sophomore punter/kickoff specialist Trenton Gill kick the ball out of bounds. Gill did it twice against Western Carolina on eight kickoffs. He did also have three touchbacks.

Position-by-position battles

NC State’s offensive line vs. Western Carolina’s front seven

Go back and see the rushing totals from the game, and add to that the only sack NC State gave up was at the end of the game with the backups and walk-ons in the contest. This was a win for NC State, but the five tackles for loss they gave up are a higher total than the Wolfpack should have allowed.

Western Carolina’s offensive line vs. NC State’s front seven

NC State picked up three sacks and held WCU’s running backs all under 4.0 yards per carry. The Catamounts only had two runs greater than four yards all afternoon.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. Western Carolina’s secondary

The performance by NCSU’s wideouts could have been better. It’s a bit concerning that NC State was not able to get a bigger play than 19 yards from any of its wide receivers against a Western Carolina defense that allowed passes of 85, 63 and 32 yards to Mercer in week one. Perhaps that is why most of the Pack’s receiving corps received below-average grades from Pro Football Focus.

Western Carolina’s wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

NC State did its job here. WCU averaged a meager 6.5 yards per completion and did not have a pass longer than 17 yards. It’s noteworthy that the Pack played the game without starting senior corner Nick McCloud and most of it absent fifth-year senior starting safety Jarius Morehead.

Quarterbacks

McKay was efficient, completing 18 of 28 passes for 200 yards and a score, but his accuracy on downfield passes needs to be better. He overthrew redshirt sophomore Thayer Thomas on what should have been a touchdown. WCU sophomore backup Will Jones performed admirably, completing 15 of 27 passes, but they only went for 98 yards.

Running backs

NC State’s trio were the stars of the game, collectively averaging an impressive 6.7 yards per carry.

Tight ends/fullbacks

This was one of the best receiving games for Pack tight ends in a while. Redshirt sophomore Cary Angeline led NC State with four catches for 47 yards and had the game’s one receiving score. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Autenrieth made three grabs for 40 yards.

Coming into the game, Angeline had 10 career catches for 176 yards and one score, and Autenrieth had caught just two passes for 27 yards.

Special teams

Aside from the blunders on kickoffs, the special teams were not bad. Gill averaged an impressive 49.3 yards per punt, and Dunn made both field goals (from 32 and 25 yards). WCU did not break off any long returns, and Thomas had a nice 16-yard punt return for the Pack.

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