Thoughts on NC State’s 52-13 Loss to Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl

NC State wasn’t expected to beat #19 Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl. They were 7.5 point underdogs.

A one-score loss was the projection…a five-score loss was the outcome.

The Aggies beat the Wolfpack 52-13 in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on New Years Eve.

The 1st half was a good matchup. The Wolfpack actually led for half of the 2nd quarter, and entered halftime down 21-13…one score…which was the spread.

On the opening drive of the 2nd half, NC State drove down to the Aggie 25-yard line, with an opportunity to either tie the game, or at minimum, make it a 5-point game. Instead of reclaiming a little bit of momentum, Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley threw an interception that was returned 78 yards for a touchdown.

From that point on, ‘momentum’ wasn’t even a word on NC State’s radar. From that point on, an apt word for the Wolfpack’s performance was ‘surrender.’

Texas A&M shutout NC State 31-0 in the 2nd half, and finished the game scoring 45 unanswered points.

In sum, it was one of the worst offensive and defensive performances by NC State in a bowl game.

They were 0-13 on third down offensively, entering the game ranked 7th nationally in offensive third down conversion percentage (49.03%). It marked the only time all year that NC State failed to convert a single third-down.

The 15 first downs were close to a record low (fewest ever in a bowl is 13).

The 273 yards of total offense was the lowest total of the season.

Texas A&M’s 52 points are the most NC State has ever given up in a bowl.

The Aggies’ 541 yards of total offense was the second most that the Wolfpack defense allowed in 2018.

Texas A&M rushed for an audacious 401 yards against NC State, which is most given up by the Wolfpack in a bowl. Junior Running Back Trayveon Williams rushed for 236 yards (2nd most against NC State in a bowl) and 3 touchdowns (most rushing touchdowns against NC State in a bowl).

Wolfpack Quarterback Ryan Finley finished the night 19/32 for 139 yards and 1 touchdown (2 interceptions), which all added up to his second worst passing efficiency rating of the season (93.7), on the biggest stage of the season.

The MVP of the game was Freshman Place Kicker Chris Dunn, connecting on both of his field goal attempts (43 and 49 yards). The 49-yard field goal marked the longest of his collegiate career, surpassing a 44-yarder against UVA earlier this year.

Also, the Running Back tandem of Senior Reggie Gallaspy and Freshman Ricky Person were a small highlight. The two combined for 126 yards rushing, averaging 5.25 yards per carry (Gallaspy – 14 for 79/Person – 10 for 47).

In the end, Texas A&M outplayed NC State, and Jimbo Fisher out coached Dave Doeren, and Doeren admitted as much after the game.

To be honest, I didn’t have any expectations that the Wolfpack would win the Gator Bowl. They were without Junior Wide Receiver Kelvin Harmon and Redshirt Senior Linebacker Germaine Pratt, who had signed with agents to begin preparing for the 2019 NFL Draft. Both players were 1st Team All-ACC.

They were without their Offensive Coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz, who took the head coaching job at Appalachian State, and Offensive Line Coach Dwayne Ledford, who took the Offensive Coordinator job at Louisville.

The experiment of George McDonald and Des Kitchings serving as Co-Offensive Coordinators looked like a middle school Bunson Burner chemistry project gone wrong. To be fair, I don’t think the offensive production in the Gator Bowl will necessarily be indicative of what the offense will look like under McDonald and Kitchings in 2019. They had less than a month to prepare for this new role, and they were without all of their personnel, against a dangerous SEC opponent in Texas A&M.

While I expected a loss, I didn’t expect humiliation.

All in all, it was one of the worst performances by NC State in recent memory.