The tone of the first quarter could dictate the rest of the game Saturday between NC State at West Virginia.
The Mountaineers haven’t scored a touchdown in the first half through the first two games, with just a field-goal in the scoring column against James Madison before halftime. Seventeen of the 27 points WVU has scored this season have come in the fourth quarter in getting off to a 1-1 start.
NC State coach Dave Doeren wants his team to start out fast regardless of who they play, but making sure WVU keeps feeling sorry for themselves offensively is of the utmost importance in Morgantown.
“We talk about that regardless,” said Doeren about strong starts. “We always want to have a good start.
“I told them we are playing a very proud program. A bunch of players that are used to winning games and in a stadium with a lot of tradition of winning.”
NCSU has practiced with piped in crowd noise this week to prepare for the fans at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“It will be a great crowd, and we have to handle our business,” Doeren said. “Whether they find themselves or not, we have to play really good football in a hostile environment.”
NC State dominated stretches of the wins against East Carolina and Western Carolina, but playing West Virginia, even if they could be down this season, still has national brand recognition. The Mountaineers have been to 37 bowls, including the last five years and 17 since 2000.
“Obviously, the competition level goes up with the conference (Big 12) that we are playing against,” Doeren said. “Like I said, it’s a team that historically has been really good.
“Winning on the road in someone’s else stadium when it’s sold out is hard to do. It would be a great step for our program.”
NC State’s defense will try to duplicate what Missouri just did — stop the run (30 rushing yards for West Virginia) and put pressure on the quarterback (three sacks).
“You always try to have your pressure packages and line stunts and things that you do, based on mobility and launch points,” Doeren said. “I think the thing that [defensive coordinator] Dave [Huxtable] and [co-defensive coordinator] Tony [Gibson] do a good job of is a mix of both [pressure and non-pressure]. Making the quarterback not just have an idea what is coming all the time.”
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