NC State flirts with danger, can't overcome mistakes
NC State flirted with danger throughout its 30-24 loss at Wake Forest, but there was always a feeling the Wolfpack would pull it out.
NC State had an astonishing 23 third-down conversion attempts and another four on fourth-down, converting 17 of them. NCSU senior H-back Jaylen Samuels had a crucial fumble at the Wolfpack’s own 46-yard line, trailing 24-21. NC State senior safety Shawn Boone made an impressive interception on the next play at the 16-yard line.
NC State junior punt returner Nyheim Hines fumbled the punt, the ball rolled into the end zone but Wake Forest couldn’t recover. Instead, it went for a touchback and the Wolfpack gained some yards by having it come out at the 20-yard line, though Hines suffered a game-ending injury on the play. NCSU entered the game without redshirt junior wide receiver Stephen Louis, who had an ankle injury.
There were drops and overthrown passes and that all led up to freshman wide receiver Emeka Emezie fumbling at the goal line, and none of the replay angles could overrule what was originally called. That combined with struggling to move down the field with no timeouts left, the Wolfpack could only heave the ball into the end zone on the last play of the game, which Essang Bassey intercepted.
“That is the game and you have to make those kind of plays,” said Doeren about Emezie’s fumble.
Even the opportunity to win the game at the end proved out of the ordinary. NCSU senior defensive tackle B.J. Hill blocked an extra point, which is the fourth time this season that has occurred to Wake Forest.
Doeren liked the second-half adjustments, which held the Demon Deacons to nine points. Wake Forest rushed for just nine yards in both the third quarter and fourth quarter, and passed for a combined 97 yards in the second half.
“I’m disappointed and you have to give Wake Forest credit,” Doeren said. “For us, the guys kept playing. [We had] 94 plays and 502 yards. They had 56 for 334.
“That is the game. You have to make the plays when they were there.”
Boone echoed his coach by dismissing his own interception because of the final outcome.
"It doesn't matter because we didn't win the game," Boone said. "If we would have won the game, then I'd answer that [about the interception]. We didn't make enough plays to win the game."
NC State Struggles Against Run-Pass Option Offense
Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford and the Demon Deacons’ offense kept NC State off stride with the run-pass option plays they feature.
NC State didn’t have any sacks and was credited with zero quarterback hurries, though Wolford did take a few licks in the pocket. The game plan kept NC State star defensive end Bradley Chub one step shy a few times. He finished second on the team with five tackles and had half a tackle for loss.
“What they are doing is running the ball and throwing it down the field, and their lineman don’t go down the field,” Doeren said. “I’m not saying they are doing anything illegal. They are blocking inside zone, so you are fitting up run plays as a defensive lineman.
“It doesn’t look like a pass and it doesn’t feel like a pass. You aren’t getting your typical rush on a pass play.”
Wolford finished with 247 passing yards and three touchdowns, and he added 31 yards on the ground. Doeren tried to bring a blitzer to cut down on WFU’s odds a little.
“It’s a seven-man protection on a four-man rush, a lot of times,” Doeren said. “We started to bring a fifth guy, but it was still 7-on-5. You have to win some one-on-one’s, and we didn’t do that enough.”
Kelvin Harmon Inches Closer To 1,000 Yards
NC State sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Harmon caught eight passes for 105 yards, which was the sixth time this season he reached the century mark.
The gifted Harmon has 64 catches for 972 yards on the season, getting closer to snapping a drought that dates back to 2003. Jerricho Cotchery is the last NC State receiver to reach 1,000 yards, snagging 86 passes for 1,369 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2003.
Harmon could only think how he could have likely reached that symbolic barrier if he didn’t have a few uncharacteristic drops against the Demon Deacons.
“There are no excuses, they were flat-out drops,” Harmon said. “It just happened.”
Harmon, redshirt sophomore Jakobi Meyers and freshman Emeka Emezie proved to be difficult for Wake Forest to cover. Self-inflicted wounds gave the Demon Deacons the opportunity to control the game and create pressure on the Wolfpack. Finley finished with 327 passing yards and a touchdown.
Harmon knows the replay on Emezie will be become part of Wolfpack lore, but he isn’t going to let his mind wander to a dark place.
“I don’t believe in any type of curse,” Harmon said.
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