NC State Is Hogging The Ball

NC State has made an extreme habit of hogging the football in the first 2 games of the season. In fact, the Wolfpack offense has had the ball in their hands more than any other offense in the FBS.

The NC State offense was on the field for 41:34 in the season opener against Troy. The Wolfpack held the ball for 40:04 minutes this past Saturday against Eastern Kentucky. Before Doeren arrived, NC State’s offense held the ball for 40+ minutes twice in 235 games dating back to 2007. Doeren’s Wolfpack has done it three times in 27 games, and has done it in back-to-back contests.

The offense deserves a lot of credit for what they have done with the ball in their hands, but a lot of the credit with the time of possession success needs to be given to the Wolfpack defense. They currently rank 2nd in the nation in first downs allowed (20), and have forced three-and-outs on 14 of the opponents 23 drives. That’s 61% of the drives. The Wolfpack held Eastern Kentucky to a three-and-out in 8 out of their 10 drives. You won’t find a Wolfpack defender ranked in the Top 10 in tackles in the ACC, because they aren’t on the field long enough to rack up the stats.

The combination of successful long offensive drives that are filled with a high load of run plays, combined with a defense that refuses to allow their opponent the chance to stay on the field, has the Wolfpack sitting as the national leader in time of possession after 2 games.