Published Sep 28, 2020
Monday Morning Quarterbacking: Virginia Tech 45, NC State 24
Matt Carter  •  TheWolfpackCentral
Editor
Twitter
@TheWolfpacker

NC State Wolfpack football was basically dominated from start to finish by Virginia Tech on Saturday during a 45-24 loss in Blacksburg, Va.

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

Advertisement

Key Moment Of The Game

This game could have potentially still been salvageable near the end of the first half despite the sluggish NC State offense having wasted an opportunity to get back into the contest earlier. After giving up scores on the first three possessions of the game, the Pack defense held Virginia Tech without points on the next three drives.

The best NC State could do in that stretch, though, was one touchdown to make it 17-7. Virginia Tech answered that TD with one of its own, and the Wolfpack took possession down 24-7 with 2:48 remaining in the first half.

Because NC State won the coin toss and deferred, it had the potential set-up of getting back-to-back unanswered scores with an effective two-minute offense followed by a strong start to the third quarter upon receiving the opening kickoff after halftime. That may have been NC State's last, best chance to make the game competitive.

The drive started promisingly when sophomore running back Jordan Houston ran for nine yards on first down. His second-down carry looked like an easy first down, but Houston instead tried to bounce the run outside and was tripped up trying to turn the corner, resulting in a one-yard loss.

Then on third and two, redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman overthrew redshirt sophomore wideout Jasiah Provillon, who had beaten his defender for a potential touchdown if the pass was in stride. A three-and-out that took only one minute off the clock gave the ball back to Virginia Tech at its own 26-yard line with 1:48 left.

On the first play of the Hokies' drive, it received a 51-yard run from wide receiver Tre Turner. Two plays later it was in the end zone for a commanding 31-7 advantage.

Three Things That Worked

1. Staying true to identity on offense and running the football

This offense should be defined by its running back, and even when it was a tough game on Saturday, NC State stayed true to that with effective results.

Junior Ricky Person Jr. and sophomores Zonovan Knight and Houston were all productive carrying the football, combining for 34 runs for 179 yards and two touchdowns. They averaged a strong 5.3 yards per rush, and the aforementioned one-yard loss by Houston was the only time any of them was hit in the backfield.

2. Special teams

Junior Christopher Dunn's legend continues to grow after he made a 53-yard field goal to end the first half, the longest successful try for the Wolfpack since John Deraney made a 54-yarder in 2006.

Redshirt junior punter Trenton Gill averaged 51.1 yards on six punts and dropped a pair inside the 20, while redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas' 21-yard punt return in the second quarter gave NC State possession on the Virginia Tech side of the field and set up the Wolfpack's first touchdown.

3. The switch to Devin Leary

Putting the blame on Hockman would be unfair. Pass protection was not good, and there were some plays where Hockman was in trouble and no help was coming from the receivers, who were not getting open.

The bottom line, however, is that Hockman dropped back to pass 21 times and a successful result happened on nine occasions: seven completions and two runs. Hockman also threw two interceptions. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary came in and dropped back 19 times with 12 positive outcomes, all pass completions.

Leary was 12-of-16 passing for 165 yards, doubling the 82 yards passing Hockman threw.

Three Things That Did Not Work

1. Defense

This stat from long-time Virginia college sports reporter David Teel may say it all: "[Virginia Tech's] 8.53 yards per play last night against NC State was their most since 8.89 in the 2003 bowl loss to Cal and Aaron Rodgers. That was their final game as Big East members."

Run or pass, NC State was not stopping it effectively enough.

2. Throwing the football

The Pack passing numbers looked a lot better at the end of the game than they actually were. Against a VT defense that had its star and NFL-bound corner Caleb Farley opt-out in the preseason and potential all-conference corner on the other side Jermaine Waller unavailable, plus starting a true freshman at rover, NC State should have been more effective throwing it.

Instead, issues protecting the quarterback combined with, frankly, ineffective quarterbacking, made NC State too one-dimensional, especially in the first half.

3. Coming out ready

This may be a bit harsh. Teams in the ACC that played an opener against an opponent with a game already under their belt went 4-0 in September. That included NC State versus Wake Forest.

Thus it's clear there was an advantage in Virginia Tech's favor since the Hokies had not played while NC State was in action the week before vs. Wake Forest, but the magnitude of which the Hokies dominated the opening moments was still striking, jumping out to a 17-0 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Position-By-Position Battles

NC State’s offensive line vs. Virginia Tech's defensive front

The verdict here is not as easy as one may suspect. According to PFF's initial grades, most of NC State's offensive line actually played well, but the Wolfpack suffered through pass protection breakdowns at left tackle in particular.

NC State was effective running the football, but allowing six sacks ultimately tips the scales to Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech's offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front

This was a manhandling. One of NC State's two sacks came from blitzing junior nickel Tyler Baker-Williams. Virginia Tech averaged 7.7 yards per carry on the way to piling up an eye-popping 314 yards on the ground.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. Virginia Tech’s secondary

The Wolfpack's receivers had a more productive day than it did in the opener, and it was a pleasant development to see fifth-year senior C.J. Riley catch a couple of passes after Leary came into the game, including a touchdown.

That said, given the question marks in Virginia Tech's secondary, the Hokies will take what unfolded Saturday as a victory for them.

Virginia Tech’s wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

The Hokies were able to win a couple of 50-50 balls in the end zone and helped their quarterbacks have an efficient outing. A win again for Virginia Tech.

Quarterbacks

The combination of Braxton Burmeister and Quincy Patterson II was 11-of-17 passing for 181 yards with two scores and, more importantly, zero turnovers. They also combined to run 19 times for 93 yards and a TD. Together, they were far better than what NC State had at the position on Saturday.

Running backs

NC State's running backs were pretty good, but VT's backs ran collectively 19 times for 174 yards and two scores to get the slight edge in the matchup.

Tight ends/fullbacks

Virginia Tech's James Mitchell's three receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown outshined fifth-year seniors Cary Angeline and Dylan Parham combining to haul in three passes for 31 yards.

Special teams

A slight advantage to NC State on this matchup, but that's not a knock on Virginia Tech which had a good night as well.

——

• Talk about it inside The Wolves’ Den

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook