There is always one game a season that NC State plays an overmatched Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent and works on its own weaknesses. This Saturday is that type of matchup.

Western Carolina struggled in its season opener last Saturday, falling 49-27 to Mercer. The Catamounts trailed 49-14 with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter before making the final score more respectable.

NC State didn’t have any major issues in dominating East Carolina 34-6 in its season opener at Carter-Finley Stadium. NCSU and Western Carolina kickoff at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Here is a full scouting report on Western Carolina.

Senior quarterback Tyrie Adams — The dual threat from St. Petersburg, Fla., entered his senior year with career totals of 7,279 passing yards, 53 touchdown tosses, 2,110 rushing yards and 13 rushing scores. Last year, he threw for 2,417 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing 194 times for 1,006 yards and 10 scores. The 6-2, 185-pounder was named the preseason Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Adams picked up where he left off during the opener against Mercer, passing for 318 yards and two scores while rushing 17 times for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Junior linebacker Ty Harris — He finished fourth on the team last year with 87 tackles, while contributing five tackles for loss and two sacks. He reached double digits in tackles in four contests, including 14 stops at Samford. He also had 11 tackles in three games last year, including against North Carolina Nov. 17. HERO Sports named him to its Sophomore All-American team.

Freshman running back Syheam McQueen — The 6-0, 205-pound McQueen was offered by NC State during his time at Laurinburg (N.C.) Scotland High, where he was once a backup to Georgia redshirt freshman and former five-star running back Zamir White. He came off the bench to lead WCU with 11 carries for 67 rushing yards against Mercer.

Redshirt junior defensive back Michael Murphy — The Spartanburg, S.C., native was third on the squad last year with 92 tackles, and added five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He had a season-high 12 tackles against both Samford and Wofford. He returned his first interception for a pick-six in the 52-50 win over VMI and finished with three interceptions. Murphy also added one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Senior running back Connell Young — The former Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley standout rushed 106 times for 529 yards and two touchdowns plus caught 31 passes for 334 yards and three scores last year. He had a season-high 178 all-purpose yards against Mercer last year, but had more modest numbers in the rematch last week. The 6-0, 210-pounder rushed 11 times for 27 yards and caught one pass for nine yards against Mercer.

1. Leaky defense. Mercer took advantage of big play after big play to build a 49-14 lead. WCU gave up a 65-yard kickoff return, which helped set up Mercer’s first score.

There also was an 85-yard touchdown reception and a 64-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. A 63-yard pass set up a one-yard touchdown run, and Mercer also had an interception that it returned 23 yards to the 3-yard line. The last big-play touchdown was a 38-yard run.

Breakdowns of that order probably won’t get corrected in one week. NC State had three plays of at least 34 yards against ECU.

2. Balanced offense, but heavy workload on quarterback. WCU rushed 39 times and had 38 passes in the opener against Mercer. Part of that is due to the wheels of quarterback Adams, who finished with 55 touches.

Adams showed his dual-threat talents against North Carolina last fall, racking up 404 yards of total offense. He rushed 26 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns, completed 18 of 34 passes for 290 yards and even caught a pass for 10 yards versus the Heels. He was sacked four times among his 61 touches.

Adams’ performance against UNC helped him become the 10th player in FCS history to throw for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season.

3. Who will fill the wide receiver void? Redshirt sophomore wide receiver D.J. Thorpe has made the switch from quarterback after redshirting his freshman year. He was one of the bright spots for Western Carolina against Mercer.

The 6-3, 190-pounder from Nashville, Tenn., caught six passes for 130 yards with a long of 41. Thorpe caught six passes for 55 yards in 11 games last year, with 24 of the yards coming on a catch against North Carolina. Thorpe was an accomplished prep quarterback, throwing for 4,980 yards and 47 touchdowns his last two years of varsity action.

NC State might have to be ready for some sort of trick play Saturday.

1. Create big plays: Mercer made a living with big plays against Western Carolina, and it would be a bit of a letdown if NC State didn’t do the same this Saturday.

Wake Forest and Oregon graduate transfer fifth-year senior wide receiver Tabari Hines supplied two of the big plays against East Carolina, with a 34-yard run and a 48-yard reception. Hines should take on a larger role in light of redshirt junior wide receiver C.J. Riley suffering a season-ending ACL injury.

2. Improve on third downs: NC State went 4 of 12 on third downs and didn’t convert on its lone fourth-down attempt.

NC State was terrific on third and long at times last year thanks to the poise of former quarterback Ryan Finley. It seemed inevitable that the Wolfpack offense would take a step back, but it should improve over time. Getting a confidence boost against Western Carolina should do wonders in that regard.

3. Don’t flirt with kick return coverage issues: East Carolina broke a long kickoff return, but it got called back by a penalty. Even if the NCSU player that got illegally blocked could have made a play, it still meant that 10 other players weren’t in a position to make one.

East Carolina officially averaged 24.0 yards on three kickoff returns, and head coach Dave Doeren pointed out that working on kickoff coverage would be one of the goals this week. Western Carolina should have plenty of kickoff return opportunities.

8 Contests that senior quarterback Tyrie Adams has thrown for more than 300 yards in his career. He had 318 passing yards in the loss against Mercer last week.

9 Consecutive losses for Western Carolina going into the NC State game. WCU hasn’t lost 10 straight since coach Mark Speir’s first year in 2012.

38 Touchdowns from players returning from last year’s team — 20 receiving and 18 rushing — out of the 41 offensive touchdowns.

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