Notebook: Missed opportunities cost Pack in Miami

There was no single play that cost NC State the game.

Had just one gone the other way, the Wolfpack could have been on the other end of a 31-30 road loss to Miami.

But that was not the case Saturday night.

In a game with five lead changes, the team that executed more plays down the stretch came out the victor.

Or, in other words:

“They've been in a bunch of one-possession games, and we didn't make the plays that we needed to make to win the game,” NC State head coach Dave Doeren said. “It's pretty simple.”

While the Wolfpack locker room would be the first to admit it didn’t put forth its best performance Saturday night, the Pack had more than its fair share of chances to steal one on the road.

With 3:46 remaining in the game, NC State was down just one point and claimed possession at its own 44-yard line with a chance to take the lead with a field goal.

On first down, redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary overthrew freshman receiver Anthony Smith down the sideline on a play that would have put the Wolfpack well within field goal territory.

On second down, Leary threw a perfect pass to redshirt sophomore Devin Carter. Carter was running a crossing route across the middle of the field, but simply dropped the ball.

It was, without doubt, the most costly of multiple drops on the night for Carter, who finished the game with just one reception for 13 yards on six targets.

Leary completed short passes to junior running back Ricky Person Jr. and redshirt junior slot receiver Thayer Thomas on third and fourth downs, but the Miami defense was able to turn the Pack over on downs on what ended up being the final change of possession in the game.

Make no mistake, that failed conversion alone didn’t cost the game.

On Miami’s opening drive of the second half, the Hurricanes marched straight to the red zone with a chance to tie the game at 17 or take the lead.

The Wolfpack forced Miami to a fourth-and-5 from the NC State 10-yard line. More times than not, a Hurricanes field goal would have made it 17-17 early in the second half.

Instead, graduate defensive tackle Cory Durden jumps offsides, giving the Canes a free first down, which they would later capitalize on for a touchdown on the next play.

On the next possession, the Pack elected to punt on fourth-and-10 from its own 42-yard line.

Junior punter Trenton Gill’s punt bounced off of a Miami player, creating a live ball situation. Smith quickly jumped on it, but the ball was jarred loose, as well as his helmet, which flew off in the process. As the pigskin bounced around the Wolfpack goal line, Smith saw another opportunity and dove onto the football.

The official initially indicated NC State had claimed possession inside of the Miami 10-yard line, but because Smith’s helmet was off when he jumped on it the second time, he received an offsetting penalty which forced a replay of fourth down.

Within the opening five minutes of the second half, the Wolfpack left at least seven points on the board due to carelessness and a dose of rotten luck.

“To win games like you've seen us do this year, you've got to make plays at key moments,” Doeren said. “We didn't. So, yeah, they do mount up. It just takes one. It takes one of those plays, and things change.”

After missing more opportunities than you can count on one hand in the second half, it looked like NC State would get one last opportunity in the final minutes of the game.

The Pack spent its last timeout down one point with 2:38 left. Miami was facing third-and-16 from its own 42-yard line.

One stop, and the Wolfpack would have gotten one last possession with just under two minutes to play. Instead, Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, the same Hurricanes player that provided bulletin board material for the Pack defense earlier in the week, found Hurricanes receiver Will Mallory for a 22-yard connection, essentially icing the game.

“Whether it's the Anthony Smith fumble or the crossing route to Devin Carter, I mean there's a myriad of plays in there,” Doeren said. “Third and 16 right there at the end, and we give up a completion. We thought they were going to run the football right there. Obviously, they didn't, and we didn't do a good enough job in coverage. There's lots of plays within that game that could change it the other way and didn't.”

NC State was already missing three defensive starters entering this game. Now it leaves Miami with even more injury questions.

A Wolfpack defense that, statistically, was among the nation’s best before Saturday night had to play most of the game without its leader.

Redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore left the game in the first half after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury.

After his first visit to the injury tent, the Wolfpack trainers put a brace on Moore’s knee as he tried to play through the pain.

But the captain wasn’t able to make it to halftime, quickly exiting the game a second time before heading to the locker room late in the second quarter.

Considering Miami outgained the Pack 220-167 yards in the second half, it was clear that Moore’s absence was felt on the defensive end.

“The injuries are piling up a little bit,” Doeren said. “It's hard not having [preseason first-team All-ACC redshirt sophomore linebacker] Payton Wilson or Isaiah Moore out there tonight. We definitely missed Zay.”

Doeren said after the game that he had not yet been informed of Moore’s specific condition and does not yet know the linebacker’s timeline for return.

Despite the disappointment of losing a conference game for the first time this season, Saturday’s loss doesn’t sink the Wolfpack’s season.

While it’s certainly safe to throw away any NC State to make the College Football Playoff future bets, the Pack remains very much in contention for a first-ever ACC Championship game appearance.

At this point, the ACC Atlantic Division is a three-team race between Clemson, Wake Forest and NC State.

Clemson also lost Saturday, dropping its second conference game this fall. That means the Tigers now have two conference losses, and the Wolfpack still holds the tiebreaker from the two teams’ head-to-head result.

For Clemson to reach the conference title game now, NC State would have to lose two more contests against ACC competition with five remaining.

Wake Forest defeated out-of-conference opponent Army, which didn’t help or hurt the Deacs one way or the other in the standing.

Wake remains undefeated in ACC play, but has yet to play the toughest stretch of its schedule. In the final three weeks of the season, the Demon Deacons will face NC State, Clemson and Boston College.

So, for now, if NC State was to win its remaining five games on the schedule, it would win the ACC Atlantic Division.

“We've just got to get them back and sit down with them tomorrow,” Doeren said. “Get home at four in the morning and then sit down with them, watch the film, get their spirits back up, get them as healthy as we can and go back to it.

"They'll understand what's in front of them when we study it tomorrow. We just got to get ready for the next game. Just like we tried to for this one.”

——

• 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