Connect with us

NC State Football

NC State vs. Miss State | Week 2 | Preview and How to Watch

Published

on

NC State Wolfpack vs. Miss State Bulldogs
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Starkville, MS
TV: ESPN2
Line: NCSU -1.5

 

After handling business against University of South Florida, the Wolfpack hit the road for some SEC action. Can the running game continue to amaze? Can this defense force turnovers and win field position? Let’s dig it…

Miss State Preview

For a good chunk of last Saturday, this preview was going to be about how bad Miss State looked in their opening game against LA Tech. Nothing was going right and the struggle was real.

MSU then proceeded to have their largest fourth quarter comeback in school history.

Final score, 35-34 Miss State, with 21 unanswered fourth quarter points. It definitely wasn’t pretty, but a win’s, a win. Miss State had six, SIX turnovers while giving up three sacks. Quarterback Will Rogers was consistent (39/47, 370 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT), but he was moving in and out of the pocket with the o-line struggling to contain. A concern for the Wolfpack, is the ball was moved all around this offense. Eight Bulldogs had multiple catches, with five going over 50 receiving yards.

Rushing game was…well…ehh. Taking out Rogers’ massive sack yardage debt, Marks and Johnson averaged close to six yards a rush, but rarely saw the ball. This offense is truly “Air Raid” Mike Leach style.

Miss State’s defense is stout on the run, but will give you chances in the passing game. Look for Leary and State to go deep when given the opportunity.

 

Keys to Winning for the Wolfpack

  • TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS: Going to go out on a limb and say that Miss State won’t fumble it another five times, but they are careless with the ball. LA Tech isn’t a chump (and we’ll double check that in a future game against them), but this State defense is faster, stronger and more disciplined. While USF QBs were under continual pressure, State failed to gain a single sack. This Miss State team only goes as far as Will Rogers can throw, so get in the backfield and disrupt. Need to win the turnover battle by at least +2 AND get on the stat sheet with some sacks.
  • Run Baby, Run: Again, hard to judge so early and with a poor USF defense as the lone example, but Knight and Person need to keep it going. Leary should be able to pick up yards through the air (and some nice scramble opportunities, himself). How well the Pack can run, is a huge difference in this game. Whether allowing for play action or running out the clock, we need 175+ total yards out of this duo.
  • Weather the Cowbells and Take Control: We were mightily impressed by how well NC State reacted with a loud Carter-Finley behind them. They were aggressive but not out of control. They’ll need that level head early with a night game in Starkville. Don’t let the SEC moniker, cowbell swinging, sea of maroon knock our focus. The Wolfpack are the better squad, just need to settle into their game early (a la USF) and go.

Prediction

Don’t expect Miss State to fall off the face of the Earth for an entire half again…but also don’t think they are consistent enough to be a contender. NC State has speed, strength and experience. It’ll be back and forth, but turnovers and offense clicking will be the key for the Wolfpack. DBs and LBs be ready…

Wolfpack Wins,  34-27

Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

Published

on

When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

Continue Reading

NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

Published

on

This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State’s Aydan White Has All-American Aspirations on His Mind

Published

on

NC State fans are extremely happy that Senior Cornerback Aydan White decided to return to Raleigh for his final year of eligibility, rather than remaining in the Transfer Portal.

White is happy he’s back as well.

“I’m just happy to be back at NC State,” said White. “It’s a good group of guys here. Just want to keep building on what we have in this defense and offense, and be the best team we can be.”

It’s hard for White to believe that he’s an old man on the Wolfpack’s football team now.

“It’s crazy just thinking about how my time has flown,” said White. “I’m now the guy that drops Freshmen off at Wolf Village, when I used to be that guy that was picked up from Wolf Village to go to practice. Definitely just trying to encourage them and get them on the right path.”

Not only could White have remained in the Transfer Portal, but he also could have left for the NFL Draft, but after hearing from NFL Scouts, he determined he still had unfinished business to take care of.

“They want to see more on-ball production. Last year I had a drop off in on-ball production. The PBU’s are good, but they want interceptions, making a play on the ball more. Being more sticky around the ball,” said White. “Just being in that position to make that play, because when you get to the league, those guys are bigger, faster and stronger, so if you can make it here, it will translate to the higher level.”

When asked on Thursday what the next step was for him as a Senior, after already proving so much, he kept his responses simple and concise.

“Keep stacking accolades. Getting better,” said White. “Helping the secondary. All-American.”

NC State’s Football program has produced an All-American in 4 consecutive seasons, with Linebacker Payton Wilson being the most recent.

2020: DT Alim McNeil – PFF (1st) AP (2nd)
2021: OT Ikem Ekwonu – Consensus 1st Team
2021: KR Zonovan Knight (CBS Sports)
2022: PK Christopher Dunn – Consensus 1st Team
2022: LS Joe Shimko – AFCA (2nd)
2023: LB Payton Wilson – Unanimous 1st Team

Could White make it 5 years in a row?

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State’s Wesley Grimes Feels Good Being Back Home

Published

on

When Wake Forest Wide Receiver Wesley Grimes announced he was transferring to NC State on December 8th, he was committing to come back home.

Before playing his first two years of college football at Wake Forest, Grimes was a 4-star prospect at Millbrook High School, right down the road from NC State in Raleigh. ON3, 247Sports and Rivals all ranked Grimes as a Top-250 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, with Rivals ranking him as the #36 overall player nationally, the #4 Wide Receiver, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.

For Grimes, Raleigh is home.

“It feels great. I feel real comfortable. I’ve trained in this facility a lot,” said Grimes. “I’ve worked out here a lot. I’m used to a lot of the stuff around here. So playing here feels like home.”

Home is a place, but home is also people. Grimes isn’t just coming home to a place on a map that is familiar. He’s also coming back to people he grew up playing football with, dating all the way back to 4th and 5th grade.

“It feels great (playing with Noah Rogers). It’s not just Noah. I played with Coelson (Fields) in Pop Warner. I played with Lex (Thomas) in Pop Warner,” said Grimes. “Just a bunch of guys I played with around Middle School age, 5th grade…4th grade. I played 7-on-7 with Keenan (Jackson). I knew of Terrell (Anderson). We’re all close. Being back with everyone is a good feeling. When you play with your brothers, it’s a fun time again.”

Maybe the most noteworthy connection Grimes had was with Noah Rogers, who like Grimes, just transferred back to Raleigh (from Ohio St.). Grimes played for Millbrook, and Rogers played for Rolesville, but the connection went back way further than that.

“Noah (Rogers) and I started playing Pop Warner together in 3rd or 4th grade. We played against each other. I played for Cap City and he played for North Raleigh,” said Grimes. “7th grade year we went to Disney, and got close. We started training in Covid a lot together, and got real close. In High School we played against each other. We’ve always been competing, getting each other better.”

Check out the highlight reel of Grimes and Rogers that went viral a few years back.

In the end, some of the players Grimes had connections with went to NC State, while others, went elsewhere, like himself. Nonetheless, like Grimes, they all found their way back home.

“Out of high school, we definitely talked about it a little bit, but we all went our different ways,” said Grimes. “We were all at different times, and we decided to go our separate ways, but in kind of a full circle moment, we all ended up in the same place, and it all worked out for the better.”

 

 

 

 

 

Continue Reading