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What they're saying about NC State's loss at Georgia Tech

Here are some of the commentary and reports following Georgia Tech's 28-26 win over NC State football Thursday night.

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What They're Saying

• Matt Carter, TheWolfpacker.com — Column: A tough evening for NC State’s defense

NC State football’s offense was far from perfect Thursday night.

The old bugaboo in the red zone popped up again when NC State failed to convert on fourth and two from the 10-yard line on its opening drive. It also twice had to settle for field goals. Not getting more points on just one of those possessions would prove to be one of the differences in a 28-26 loss.

The costly turnovers and penalties also proved to be decisive errors. Redshirt sophomore receiver Thayer Thomas muffed a punt at the NC State 31-yard line with 1:03 left. Then redshirt sophomore Isaiah Moore was called for roughing the passer on an incomplete third down pass (although in Moore’s defense — an iffy one that is more of a byproduct of the modern era’s justifiable overemphasis on player safety). That flag extended the Jackets drive and led to a touchdown with just 32 seconds to go in the half when it should have still been NC State’s ball.

Thus the blame for the loss is spread around to everyone, but the biggest piece falls on a defense that did not look up to the task from the get-go.

• Joe Giglio, Raleigh News and Observer — Whatever can go wrong for NC State has this season

If it can go wrong for N.C. State this season, it has.

The end of the second quarter in a 28-26 loss at Georgia Tech on Thursday night was further proof, not that N.C. State needed it.

The raft of injuries and mistakes up to this point in the season were sufficient to convert any true believers before Thursday’s loss eliminated the Wolfpack (4-7, 1-6 ACC) from the postseason.

But when you’re running cold, there’s no thawing your way out of the misery. There’s only new ways to freeze.

Down 14-3 near the end of the first half, N.C. State’s beleaguered defense came up with a stop. Georgia Tech punted, from its own 25-yard line, with 1:14 left in the half.

N.C. State coach Dave Doeren was thinking maybe a late field goal could make it an eight-point game before the half and he knew his team was getting the ball to start the second half.

That’s not how it worked out.

• Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Tech’s feel-good win gives Collins another selling point

Geoff Collins made himself an easy target for people like ... well, me. He hit town talking fast and low, like Johnny Cash on Red Bull. He spoke of brands and the building thereof. He posted selfies from Waffle House. He re-invented the depth chart, a time-honored item not crying for a makeover. Then Georgia Tech lost five of its first six games, and we pundits began to wonder if the new man was all bass and no tune.

The dancing “Juice Crew” on Tech’s bench. The labeling of third down as “Money Down.” (Or, in the Collins notation, “$ Down.”) The #404Takeover. The “Effort-Based” defense. The desperate crew in “Glengarry Glen Ross” didn’t sell this hard. And when his Yellow Jackets lost consecutive games to The Citadel and Temple, you were looking for the showroom exit. But here’s the thing:

Collins inherited a program in need of salesmanship.

Under his predecessor, the emphasis was less on Georgia Tech than Paul Johnson. Tech fans loved it when he beat Georgia – he did the deed three times, all between the hedges – and when he won the Orange Bowl, but there was little year-over-year, ahem, buzz. It was the same offense. More to the point, it was the same stubborn coach who refused to deviate from his stylized methods. (That’s not necessarily a criticism; Johnson’s offense won a lot of games.)

Collins’ first team was never going to win much. Johnson cared little for recruiting, and what recruits he got were to fit a system run by no other Power 5 school.

• Ken Sugiura, Atlanta Journal-Constiution — Georgia Tech hangs on to defeat NC State

Less than a week after bottoming out, Georgia Tech claimed some validation for a season in which the Yellow Jackets have steadily improved in coach Geoff Collins’ first year but haven’t had much to show for it.

Playing with frenzied energy, the Jackets gained control of the game early with big plays from the offense and then held on by their fingertips at the end. Tech claimed a precious victory Thursday night with a 28-26 defeat of N.C. State at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

“We asked them to start fast and strike first,” Collins said. “They did that. And then we asked them to finish, and that last drive, putting it together with five minutes left on the clock and not even letting them have the ball back was really cool to see.”

• Jaylan Harrington, Technician — NC State finally shows some fight in near-complete performance

NC State’s 28-26 close loss to Georgia Tech may not have come as a surprise to Vegas, but the way it unfolded was anything but expected. After going down 21-3 at halftime, anyone who had watched the Wolfpack’s previous four games couldn’t help but expect NC State to roll over, and with good reason. Thursday night’s performance marked the first time the Wolfpack outscored an ACC opponent in the second half, and it did that with the best half of football this offense has played yet.

At halftime, Georgia Tech outgained NC State by almost 70 yards, despite the Wolfpack running 11 more plays. That was the result of the offense not being able to match the explosiveness of Georgia Tech, something that quickly changed in the second half.

“We just came out, realized we had another half to play,” said graduate wide receiver Tabari Hines. “Obviously, Georgia Tech was 2-8 coming into this game, and we feel like we’re a better team than we showed in the first half. In the second half, we knew we’d come out and hit them on certain plays that we didn’t hit in the first half, and that’s what we did.”

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