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GAME NOTES (from NC State Media)

NC State vs. Mississippi State
3:30pm | Charlotte, NC  | ESPN

BOWLED OVER

The Belk Bowl marks NC State’s 29th postseason appearance and its 11th bowl game since 2000. The Wolfpack posts a 15-12-1 overall record in post-season bowls and is 7-3 in its last 10 outings.

THE PACK IN THE BELK BOWL

T.J. Graham had 7 catches for 116 yards and 2 TDs against Louisville in the 2011 Belk Bowl This season marks the third time NC State has played a bowl game in Bank of America Stadium. The Wolfpack won the 2011 Belk Bowl, 31-24, vs. Louisville and defeated South Florida there in 2005 in what was then called the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

In 2005, NC State turned in a storybook ending to a rollercoaster season with a 14-0 victory over South Florida on New Year’s Eve. The defense, led by bowl MVP Stephen Tulloch (Detroit Lions), shut out the Bulls in USF’s first bowl game appearance in school history. It marked the only shutout in a bowl that year and the first ever by the Wolfpack. NC State scored 24 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to overwhelm Louisville in the 2011 win. Quarterback Mike Glennon (Tampa Bay Bucs), who completed 21 of 33 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, was named the MVP of the game.

STATE VS. STATE

It’s been 20 years since the Wolfpack and the Bulldogs met on the gridiron, however the 2015 Belk Bowl will mark the first of three matchups between the two teams in the next six years. NC State and Mississippi State have scheduled a home and home series in the next few years. The Bulldogs will visit Raleigh in 2020 and the Wolfpack will travel to Starkville in 2021.

The 2015 Belk Bowl will mark the third time the two teams have faced off in a postseason bowl. The Wolfpack defeated the Bulldogs 28-24 in the 1994 Peach Bowl in the last meeting and lost to MSU in the 1963 Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia (that weather for that contest was 19o with a 17 mile-per-hour wind!).

 

KEYS TO THE GAME


Stopping Prescott

Dak Prescott is playing in his final college game and he’s going to do his best to go out on top. This is a kid who has 110 career touchdowns and owns 38 school records. He can beat you in the air and beat you on the ground when he has to. He is coming off his best year passing, going for 3,413 yards with 25 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He has good receivers and their offense as a whole is dangerous. State’s defense will need to have one of it’s best performances of the season.

Brissett (and the offense) needs to play big

Jacoby is also playing his final collegiate game and while the Pack didn’t exactly shock the ACC this year, Brissett has been above average (2,400 yards and 24 total TDs). He is going to have to have a big game if State is going to go blow for blow with the Bulldogs.

The main thing this offense is going to need to do is to stay on the field. They are going to need an accurate Brissett, a tough, grind-it-out kind of day for Gallasby and some supreme ball security. State has been one of the best teams in the nation at not turning it over, and keeping that trend going could be the difference in a win or a loss today.

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wormncsu
wormncsu
8 years ago

This team really showed yesterday they have a long way to go. They probably really didn’t need to be in this particular bowl anyway. Let’s hope we can look in some more good recruits and maybe a few transfers. The difference in team speed and ability was glaring yesterday as it was against most of the top teams this year.

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BrandonMills
BrandonMills
8 years ago

Gallaspy not playing.

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NC State Football

Auburn Transfer Linebacker Cam Riley Decommits from NC State

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4 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Auburn Transfer Linebacker Cam Riley (6’5″/242) announced tonight that he is decommitting from NC State.

Back on February 26th, Riley verbally committed to NC State. Players out of the Transfer Portal don’t sign a National Letter of Intent like players out of high school, making it easier for them to change their mind.

247Sports and ESPN both ranked Riley as a Top-300 4-Star prospect in the 2020 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #229 overall player nationally in the 2020 class, the #14 Outside Linebacker, and the #10 player in the state of Alabama.

In 2020 and 2021, Riley played in 22 total games (2 starts), playing in 160 snaps, tallying 23 tackles. In 2022, Riley broke out, starting in 7 of the 11 games, ranking 2nd on the team in tackles, with 65.

This past season, Riley played in 13 games, but only started in 1. He had 32 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. His PFF grade of 66.7 was the highest of his career.

Over 4 seasons, Riley played in 46 games (10 starts) for Auburn, tallying 948 snaps.

In my mind, there was a good chance that Riley was going to earn the starting role at the SAM Linebacker position at NC State, with Sean Brown at the WILL and Caden Fordham at the MIKE.

Unless NC State grabs a Linebacker out of the Portal now, I would expect Redshirt Freshman Kelvon McBride to be at the starting SAM position at the beginning of Fall Camp.

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ON3: NC State’s Dave Doeren is 1 of the Top-25 Best Coaches in College Football

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11 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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ON3’s Jesse Simonton ranked the Top-25 College Football Coaches heading into the 2024 season, and NC State’s Dave Doeren ranks 23rd.

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Here’s what Simonton had to say about Doeren:

23. Dave Doeren, NC State

Doeren became the Wolfpack’s all-time winningest head coach last season, overcoming all manors of offensive ineptitude to win eight games for the fourth straight season. He still hasn’t busted through the glass ceiling and taken NC State to an ACC Championship, but the Wolfpack have legitimate conference title hopes in 2024 with the offseason work Doeren has done via the portal (quarterback Grayson McCall, tailbacks Jordan Waters and Hollywood Smothers and receivers Noah Rogers and Wesley Grimes). 

In 11 seasons in Raleigh, Doeren’s program has been steadily consistent and has become a model for development (17 NFL Draft picks since 2018) and strength and conditioning. (ON3)

ACC Coaches in the Top-25

6. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

7. Mike Norvell (FSU)

20. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

23. Dave Doeren (NC State)

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NC State has Produced 19 1st Round NFL Draft Picks

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20 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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The 1st round of the 2024 NFL Draft will begin this evening at 8pm on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. NC State has had 19 players drafted in the 1st round.

NC State ranks 8th in ACC history in 1st Round Picks.

Three of the Wolfpack’s 1st Round Picks have come under Dave Doeren’s watch, which ranks 2nd all-time in school history. Chuck Amato had 5 players drafted in the 1st round, which is the most ever under a coach at NC State.

Chuck Amato – 5
Dave Doeren – 3
Mike O’Cain – 2
Dick Sheridan – 2
Bo Rein – 2
Earle Edwards – 2

While most projections don’t have Wolfpack Linebacker Payton Wilson going in the 1st round tonight, a few do. Wilson was invited to attend the NFL Draft, but he will be tuning in from his home in Hillsborough. We’ll have to tune in tonight to see if Wilson hears his name called on the 1st night of the 2024 NFL Draft.

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NC State Football

WATCH QB Grayson McCall’s Tape from the 2024 NC State Spring Game

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2 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State will have a new Quarterback in 2024 in Coastal Carolina Transfer Grayson McCall. A few weeks back, McCall looked sharp in the 2024 Spring Game, completing 16 of his 20 pass attempts for 205 yards and a touchdown. McCall was accuracy and composure were evident in his first time playing in Carter-Finley Stadium.

Check out McCall’s tape from the Spring Game.

 

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