Numerous mistakes led to NC State falling behind and losing 24-17 against Syracuse on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
NC State had one interception, lost two fumbles, missed one field goal and committed six penalties. Add it up and it became a recipe that sunk the Wolfpack who fell to 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the ACC.
NC State stresses winning turnover margin every single game.
“Obviously a game we lost because the three turnovers going in to score,” NCSU coach Dave Doeren said. “All three different, but all three costly.
“You would hope that you'd at least get nine points — three trips into the red zone and come up with zero on all three trips.”
The game began innocently enough, but one thing became clear — Syracuse was going to throw the football and NC State defense was having a hard time getting off the field. That proved to be a game-long theme with Orange senior quarterback Kyle McCord going 31-of-43 passing for 346 yards and two touchdowns. Syracuse had 76 plays, compared to the Wolfpack having just 45.
“Syracuse quarterback played really well,” Doeren said. “He's a good football player. He's very accurate and gives his receivers a chance to make plays.
“They did not turn the ball over offensively, and we did three times. That was the difference in the game.”
NC State sophomore running back Kendrick Raphael fumbled at the Syracuse 17-yard line, and the Orange responded with a scoring drive capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Umari Hatcher to make it 10-0 with 2:33 left in the second quarter.
The second turnover was when freshman quarterback Cedrick “C.J.” Bailey got sacked and fumbled after Syracuse safety Devin Grant at the Syracuse 27-yard line. Syracuse marched down the field with senior running back LeQuint Allen rushing for a four-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 17-7 with 6:39 left in the third quarter.
The third turnover came when Bailey marched the offense down to the Syracuse 28-yard line, and he threw an interception to defensive back Justin Barron, who returned it 41 yards to the NC State 38-yard line. The Orange capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to senior wide receiver Jackson Meeks to make it 24-7 with 10:20 left in the game.
Barron finished with a team-high eight tackles, one sack, one interception and two tackles for loss in the win.
“We're undefeated in the last five years and we win the turnover margin,” Doeren said. “Talk about it every week and the guys know it. We got to do a better job believing it. It's the most important thing.”
Despite the daunting deficit, NC State battled back to come within a recovered onside kick to have a chance at the end.
“We haven't been playing our Wolfpack football,” NCSU redshirt freshman wide receiver Noah Rogers. “We've been showing a lot of good things. We just want to execute harder, that's all.”
Another key issue is that Syracuse held NC State to just 1 of 6 on third-down conversions, while the Orange offense went 8 of 15 on that pivotal down.
The plays differential proved huge, as did the time of possession, but the Orange barely led in total yards 424-to-411.
Bailey had the two turnovers, but also showed his down the road potential with some big plays, throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass to Rogers, and a 72-yard pass to redshirt freshman running back Daylan Smothers.
"I have to take care of the ball more," Bailey said. "That's the main thing. That's killing us. We are playing so well. We are flipping the field, but we just keep turning the ball over."
Bailey finished going 17-of-24 passing for 329 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and he rushed seven times for 28 yards.
“C.J., he's doing a phenomenal job for, stepping into a huge role and continue to lead the team,” Rogers said. “Just because he may turn the ball over or something, we don't devalue. We encourage him to keep going and everything. I believe CJ is going to keep doing great things for us.”
NC State missed redshirt junior middle linebacker Caden Fordham and sophomore cornerback Brandon Cisse from the defense. NCSU will have redshirt freshman nickel Tamarcus Cooley sit out the first half next week due to getting ejected for targeting.
NC State plays at California (3-3, 0-3 ACC) next Saturday.
“For most teams, the teams start to break up, separate,” NC State senior linebacker Devon Betty said. “They don't wait. Everybody start doing their own thing. I feel like here, we've been through enough stuff together to know that we all we got and we all we need.
“We just got to stick together and move on and get back to work.”
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral
Follow on Instagram/Threads:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
