A Statistical Comaprison of NC State vs. Clemson

NC State plays Clemson tomorrow in one of the biggest games for the Wolfpack in decades. Below we are going to do a statistical comparison of the two teams, and see what NC State will have to do to pull off the upset.

• Strength vs. Strength – The strength of the Wolfpack offense is their success through the air, but to counter that, Clemson’s pass defense is the 7th best in the nation.
• Strength vs. Weakness – NC State ranks 14th in the nation in turnover margin, and Clemson ranks 64th. The Pack has to take care of the football, and force turnovers like they did last year down in Death Valley if they want to have a chance. Clemson is bound to try to take advantage of NC State’s secondary, which ranks 108th in pass defense. When they do, they have to make Tigers quarterback Kelly Bryant pay, who has thrown 4 interceptions to go along with his 6 touchdown passes.
• Strength vs. Strength – NC State has done a good job protecting Quarterback Ryan Finley, ranking 14th in sacks allowed, but Clemson ranks 1st in sacking the QB.
• Strength vs. Strength – Even after letting Notre Dame run all over them last a week, NC State ranks 19th in run defense, and Clemson, like Notre Dame (but not as good as Notre Dame), has a formidable run offense (ranking 25th), and leans heavily on it. If NC State can limit them to under 150 or 200 yards, chalk that up as a win.
• Strength vs. Strength – NC State is averaging 32.8 points per game, which isn’t too shabby, but Clemson only allows opponents to score an average of 13.1, which ranks 6th nationally. If the Wolfpack got anywhere close to their season average, they will have pulled off a tremendous feat.