One of the hardest aspects of college football is to reinvent a squad each year.
NC State has fought through a transition year to be 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, but now has to work in senior quarterback Brennan Armstrong once against Saturday at 2 p.m. at Wake Forest on the CW Network.
Wake Forest hasn't found themselves this season and could be in jeopardy of having its seven-year bowl streak snapped. Wake Forest is 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the ACC with NC State, Notre Dame and Syracuse remaining.
Five Wake Forest players to watch
Junior wide receiver Jahmal Banks
The lanky 6-foot-4, 205-pound vertical threat leads Wake Forest with 47 catches for 528 yards and three touchdowns. He flourished opposite A.T. Perry last year, with nine touchdowns among his 42 scores. He opened the season with six catches for 108 yards and a score against Elon, and his best ACC game has been catching eight passes for 55 yards in a 17-12 loss at Clemson on Oct. 7. Banks caught four passes for 69 yards against NC State last year.
Sophomore running back Demond Claiborne
The 5-9, 200-pounder from Aylett, Va., is the top running back for Wake Forest since Kenneth Walker. He has 129 carries for 574 yards and five touchdowns, and is a threat on kickoff returns if called upon, with a 96-yard score against Virginia Tech among his eight returns. He had a season-high 26 carries for 165 yards in the 36-20 win over Vanderbilt on Sept. 9. He also had 14 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the 21-17 win over Pittsburgh on Oct. 21.
Junior defensive end Jasheen Davis
The 6-3, 259-pounder has 38 tackles, 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two recovered fumbles. Davis has 108 career tackles and 19 sacks, including seven last year. He had three tackles and a sack in last year’s game against NC State.
Sophomore quarterback Mitch Griffis
Griffis existed the Clemson game with a concussion, and he full was back in stride for the Duke game last Saturday. Griffis went 16-of-19 passing for 241 yards, and 19 carries for 55 yards, with one interception. The 5-11, 193-pounder from Ashburn, Va., has gone 122-of-204 passing for 1,534 yards, nine yards and seven interceptions. He also rushed 101 times for 137 yards and two scores.
Senior linebacker Jacob Roberts
The 6-1, 233-pounder from Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek High has 62 tackles and five sacks in his first year at WFU. He played his first three years at North Carolina A&T and had 65 tackles and two interceptions that he returned for touchdowns against the Aggies.
What to watch for from Wake Forest
1. Unknown QB play? Wake Forest has typically known its quarterback of the future since Riley Skinner took over in 2006.
Skinner, Tanner Price, John Wolford, Sam Hartman and a little bit of a Jamie Newman detour have been under center in a steady stream. For some such as Price, Wolford or even Hartman, there were some bump adjustment periods.
Sophomore Mitch Griffis was annointed the next in line, but it has definitely been bumpy. It remains to be seen if Griffis will go on to be a three-year starter, or if Wake Forest will try and find an alternative option.
Griffis got off to a good start in non-conference action with 329 yards and three touchdowns against Elon and 312 yards and three scores in the third game of the season at Old Dominion. One of the issues for Griffis and the Demon Deacons' offense is allowing 40 sacks this season — 32 of them against Griffis.
2. Wake Forest's defense is inconsistent. The teams with potent offenses in the ACC this season have scored against Wake Forest.
Florida State had 41 and Georgia Tech had 30, but the problem has been that even Virginia Tech moved the ball and put 30 points on the board. The Hokies have only done that in four games this season, all wins.
The teams that struggle offensively like Clemson (17 points) or Duke when quarterback Riley Leonard is injured — reaching 24 points on a game-winning field goal as time expired.
NC State hasn't had an explosive offense this season, and now senior Brennan Armstrong is back at quarterback. If the Wolfpack can move the ball against the Demon Deacons in the first quarter, it could be a long day in Winston-Salem, N.C.
3. Wake Forest could be strong on special teams. Wake Forest field goal kicker Matthew had been reliable this season, but he missed a pair of field goals against Duke last Saturday and the Demon Deacons lost 24-21.
Dennis has gone 14 of 18 on field goals this season, with a long of 44, and has made 19 of 20 on extra points.
The former Charlotte Myers Park High product has gone 26 of 32 in his WFU career the last two years, with a long of 46.
Punter Ivan Mora has averaged 41.4 yards on 45 punts, with 15 inside the 20-yard line. Mora has a big leg with seven boots of at least 50 yards.
Demond Clairborne and Ke'Shawn Williams are both threats for big kickoff returns, and the former scored against Virginia Tech. Punt returner Taylor Morin is averaging 8.2 yards on 13 returns, with a long of 34.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. NC State senior quarterback Brennan Armstrong won’t have to win the game for the Wolfpack. He just has to not hurt them.
That might be the biggest change in NC State since Armstrong last started. NCSU didn’t know exactly its identity the first five games of the season with Armstrong, but there isn’t a question of what it is now. NC State will look to not turn the ball over, no careless penalties that gets the offense off track and get the ball to freshman wide receiver Kevin Concepcion in a variety of ways. As written about earlier this week, Concepcion wasn’t used in the backfield or get any pop passes with Armstrong as quarterback. We’ll see how much that changes against Wake Forest.
2. If the offense can manage to equal the point totals of the wins over Clemson and Miami (with a little help from Payton Wilson’s pick six), it could be enough with the way the defense is playing.
NC State is allowing 20.9 points, 110.7 rushing yards and 221.7 passing yards per game this season. However, it has gone to a different level after allowing the two big long plays that doomed the Wolfpack at Duke.
Wilson’s play has been spectacular and he was named a Dick Butkus Award semifinalist. He ranks second in tackles (105) among the 12 semifinalists, and probably one of three players who will garner the strongest consideration for the award.
NC State has also picked off 13 passes this season and has recovered five fumbles. Wining the turnover margin is always important in the Dave Doeren era.
3. It's no secret that NC State's running backs have struggled this season, but teams have run well against Wake Forest. The examples off and on this season have shown the Demon Deacons are getting gouged on the ground, allowing 133.9 yards per game.
Duke rushed 41 times for 181 yards, with Jordan Waters and Jaquez Moore both rushing for 76 yards apiece last week.
FSU star back Trey Benson rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown, and caught four passes for 100 yards, including a 80-yard score.
Pitt’s C'Bo Flemister rushed 23 times for 105 yards in its loss against WFU.
Clemson’s Will Shipley and Phil Mafah helped the Tigers rush 42 times for 207 yards in its win.
Three numbers of note
2 Wins for NC State at Wake Forest since 2001, going 2-9. NC State coach Dave Doeren has one of the two wins, when Jacoby Brissett was quarterback.
10 Bowl berths for Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson since 2009 between Bowling Green and WFU, with seven coming in Winston-Salem, N.C.
45 National ranking for Wake Forest's class of 2024 by Rivals.com, which would be the highest in Rivals.com history (since 2002). Last year's class finished No. 46.
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