NC State Defeats ODU 38-14: Defensive Notes

Last night NC State defeated Old Dominion in their first road game of the season 38-14 to improve to 3-0 on the season.  Here are some Offensive notes on the Wolfpack victory:

• Last season NC State allowed Old Dominion to score 34 points on them in Raleigh.  They weren’t having any of that this year, and held the Monarch’s to 14 points.
• In the first two games of the season Old Dominion averaged 283.5 yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry.  Ray Lawry was leading the nation in rushing, averaging 234 yards and 3 touchdowns per game.  Last night, NC State held Lawry to 15 yards rushing, averaging 1.7 yards per carry.  Old Dominion as a team, rushed for a whopping -3 yards, which is the lowest since NC State held Maryland to -9 yards rushing in 2010.
• A lot of credit for the NC State offense leading the nation in time of possession needs to be given to the Wolfpack defense.  They forced Old Dominion into 3-and-outs in 7 of their 11 possessions.  Through 3 games, NC State’s opponent has ended their possession with a 3-and-out 62% of the time.
• Old Dominion only converted 3 of their 12 third down attempts.  Through three games, NC State’s opponents have only converted 18% of their third down attempts.
• Starting Middle Linebacker Jerod Fernandez smashed his knee in a knee-to-knee collision, but Coach Doeren said after the game that it is a little swollen, but that “he should be fine.”
• Defensive Tackle Justin Jones started for the second consecutive game over Kentavius Street, but Street played like a man on a mission.  He led the Wolfpack with 6 tackles (1 TFL), which was triple the amount that he had accumulated in the first two games.  Jones also had a solid performance of 4 tackles.
• NC State only allowed Old Dominion 148 total yards of offense.  Seventy of those yards came from a 70-yard Ray Lawry touchdown reception.  This was the second time in three games that the Wolfpack defense has held their opponent to under 200 yards of total offense.
• Punter A.J. Cole had a 53 yard punt, which is the longest of his young career.
• Place Kicker Kyle Bambard connected on his first field goal of his collegiate career from 36 yards out.  Bambard is 1 of 3 on the season.
• The Wolfpack Defensive Backs were active yesterday, breaking up 4 passes.  Through the first two games, they only broke up a total of 2 passes.
• Cornerback Jack Tocho returned this week after missing the Eastern Kentucky game due to an injury.  He didn’t start, but he did play and picked up a tackle and a pass breakup.