NC State opens its 2020 football season on Saturday, Sept. 19 against Wake Forest in Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Demon Deacons (0-1, 0-1 ACC) already have one game under their belt, a 37-13 loss to No. 1 Clemson, which could be advantageous in some ways and detrimental in others. The Wolfpack will look to right the ship from last season's disappointing 4-8 campaign starting this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network.

Here is the full scouting report on Wake Forest:

Fifth-year senior defensive end Carlos Basham Jr. — The consensus preseason All-American returns as the star of the Wake Forest defense after earning first-team All-ACC honors in 2019.

The 6-5, 285-pounder came out hot in the Deacs' season opener against Clemson, recording two tackles, one for loss and the other was a sack.

Basham finished second in the ACC in sacks (11) and tackles for loss (18) last season. He also had 61 quarterback pressures, the most among any 2021 draft-eligible players in 2019.

The fifth-year senior earned a spot on PFF's countdown of the top 25 prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft who chose to return to college football, coming in at No. 7.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Hartman — Hartman was Wake's back-up last season behind All-ACC honorable mention Jamie Newman, who transferred to Georgia this offseason before opting out of the 2020 campaign, but it won't be Hartman's first time as QB1 for the Demon Deacons.

He had a solid outing against a tough Clemson defense in week one that clearly outmatched Wake Forest. The redshirt sophomore threw for 182 yards, completing 11 of 21 attempts with no touchdowns or interceptions. He was pulled in the fourth quarter after taking a hard hit.

As a true freshman starter in 2018, Hartman threw for 1,984 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions in nine games before breaking his leg against Syracuse, which ended his season.

Junior placekicker Nick Sciba — Sciba returns after an All-American season in 2019 in which he earned first-team honors from ESPN and named to the second team by Phil Steele, Sports Illustrated and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). He was also named to the official first-team All-ACC squad and earned third-team All-America laurels from Athlon Sports and the Associated Press.

A member of the 2020 Lou Groza Award Watch List, along with NC State junior placekicker Christopher Dunn, Sciba connected on 24 of 25 field goals in 2019 and is 97 of 97 on PAT attempts in his college career.

He had a bumpy start to the 2020 season, however, making just 2 of 4 field goals. One of the kicks was blocked, but the true miss was a 31-yard attempt that's normally automatic for Sciba.

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Donavon Greene — In his short college career thus far, Greene has proven to be an electric playmaker whenever he gets his hands on the ball.

In four games last season, the 6-2, 198-pound receiver averaged 19.2 yards per reception after making 13 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns.

Last week against Clemson, he pulled in three receptions for 76 yards, an average of 25.3 yards per grab.

Junior defensive back Nasir Greer — Greer started 11 games and played in 12 overall last year, being named an All-ACC honorable mention selection. He finished tied for fourth on the team in tackles (65) and finished third in the ACC in fumbles forced per game (0.25).

Entering his third season as a significant contributor in the Wake Forest secondary, the 6-0, 202-pounder is a preseason second-team All-ACC selection according to Lindy's Sports and a third-teamer by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.

He played strong safety against Clemson in week one and tallied two tackles.

1. Zone-read offense

Hartman may be replacing what became a household-name college quarterback in Newman, but the redshirt sophomore is already familiar with Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson's zone-read offense.

"They have a very unique style of zone-read offense, with the mesh, the RPO [run-pass option] game and how it works timing-wise in the backfield," NC State head coach Dave Doeren said Monday.

NC State's linebackers will be put to the test early in reading the RPO plays regularly used in the Demon Deacons' offensive scheme.

2. Carlos Basham Jr. in the backfield

NC State will face one of the best opposing defenders it will see this season in game one with Basham. The future NFL defensive end has recorded a tackle for loss in 19 consecutive games, an FBS record by seven contests.

"Obviously, Basham is a player that we have great respect for," Doeren said. "Not that we don't [respect] the rest of them, we do. But he is a very tough, big, thick defensive end that anchors that front."

Sixth-year senior left tackle Tyrone Riley, who is the Pack's starter on the game one depth chart, will be tasked with keeping Basham in check this Saturday.

3. Young receiving corps looks to replace Sage Surratt

Wake Forest took a big hit on an offense that was already returning just three starters from 2019 when it lost consensus preseason first-team All-ACC wide receiver Sage Surratt, who opted out of the campaign to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.

The previously mentioned Greene, along with redshirt freshman Taylor Morin and redshirt junior Jaquarii Roberson, will look to fill in the gap left by the absence of Surratt's playmaking ability.

In the first game against Clemson, the young trio combined for 261 receiving yards on 16 receptions, including one touchdown.

"They've lost a lot of skill on offense, but the kids that they have showed a lot of athleticism in that game," Doeren said. "You could see the athleticism with Greene, No. 7, and Roberson, No. 5. I think they found a playmaker in the slot in Roberson.

"You can kind of see who they replaced their playmakers with and what those guys are capable of."

1. Keep the Wake offense off of the field

On top of Wake Forest's zone-read offense, they have one of the most notoriously effective up-tempo schemes in the ACC.

"There are a lot of different versions of no-huddle in college football, but this one, in my opinion, is one of the fastest of those that we'll face," Doeren said.

Up-tempo offenses thrive off of momentum, particularly when they can force defenses to tire by keeping them on the field. Considering the uncertainty of how well-conditioned NC State will be in its first game following an offseason filled with COVID-19 related disruptions and pauses, it will be crucial for the Wolfpack defense to keep Wake's offense on the sideline.

"Defensively, you have to do a good job getting off the field," Doeren said. "Any tempo offense struggles when they can't get their first first-down. It's just managing that throughout the game, creating some short fields and field position."

2. Give redshirt sophomore Devin Leary confidence early

Leary had the first start of his college career last season against Wake Forest in a game he struggled in. During a lopsided 44-10 Demon Deacons victory in Winston Salem, Leary threw for 149 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions with a 37.8 completion percentage.

Now entering his first complete season as the Wolfpack's starter, it will be vital for Leary to see some completed passes early to gain confidence in what should be a close contest.

Although it's unfair to take much from the Clemson game with Heisman Trophy contender Trevor Lawerence under center, it was noticeable to see Wake Forest's secondary get torched in week one, giving up 376 passing yards and one touchdown (despite multiple dropped passes from Clemson receivers).

3. Win the special teams game

This matchup features two of the ACC's best placekickers in Lou Groza Award Watchlist members Dunn and Sciba. In what should be a close affair, field goals could make the difference in the Pack's season opener.

Field goals won't be the only thing to watch. Doeren mentioned in his media availability Monday that the Wolfpack will need to give itself a chance with field position, something it struggled with in last year's meeting.

"Last year, in our game with them, we were pinned multiple times inside of the 10 by their punter, we turned the football over, we didn't give ourselves a chance," Doeren said. "In any game, I think it starts with you not beating yourself.

"That's a huge point of emphasis for this football team. I look forward to watching these guys go out there and do it, I'm excited."

0 Turnovers last week against Clemson. Although Wake Forest doesn't have as much experienced talent as it did last season, the Deacs have typically played a mistake-free brand of football under Clawson.

47.2 Percentage of converted third downs for the Demon Deacons last season, which led the ACC and ranked 13th nationally.

2 Wins by the road team in meetings between the two schools since 2007. Wake Forest beat the Wolfpack 27-23 in Carter Finley Stadium in 2018, and NC State topped the Deacs 35-17 in Winston Salem in 2015.

——

• 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