NC State Football
NC State 48 Marshall 41: Initial Thoughts
Some initial thoughts from NC State’s 48-41 win over Marshall.
- NC State scored 48 points.
- The offensive play calling looked closer to the creative and explosive offense we expected to get with the arrival of Robert Anae as Offensive Coordinator.
- MJ Morris could have easily lost his composure, instead, he held it together, leading the Wolfpack to a dramatic victory. He was 1 for 7 for 17 yards, with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in the 1st Quarter.
- He ended up throwing 3 interceptions. 2 of them were tipped. Quite a few balls went through receivers hands. He was off on quite a few.
- Despite all of that, he finished the game with 265 yards passing, 4 touchdowns, and a Passing Efficiency Rating of 145.2.
- Marshall scored 41 points.
- That wasn’t what I expected to happen today.
- With that being said, 7 of those came off of a Pick-Six.
- 7 of them came off of an interception that gave the Herd the ball on NC State’s 29 yard line.
- Regardless, I didn’t expect NC State’s defense to give up 419 yards to Marshall.
- It was good to see NC State to create 3 turnovers.
- Payton Wilson had 14 tackles.
- That’s tied for the 2nd most in his career.
- It’s the most tackles since he tallied 19 against Duke in 2020.
- Kevin Concepcion is special.
- 8 receptions for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns.
- They found a way to get the ball in his hands, in as many ways as possible. He was targeted 14 times. That’s what you do with a playmaker.
- Trent Pennix had 3 receptions for 99 yard and 2 touchdowns.
- This is what people expected in the preseason. It was expected that Pennix would be a weapon in a Robert Anae offense.
- What a classless thing for NC State fans to do, booing Brennan Armstrong.
- EXPLOSIVE
- NC State had 5 plays of 35+ yards.
I despise it when on passing downs our defense rushes 3 and drops 8…
Not sure I understood the decision to put Brennon Armstrong in either but I wasn’t exactly opposed to it. I actually like the idea of possibly having a dual threat at QB if it can work. What baffled me were the “onside” kicks. What the was that? It happened like, three times!!! Was there a strategy in that? The only thing I can think is we were counting on our defense to make the stop (which they did) and felt better about controlling the situation at midfield??? …with the fear that Marshal may return the ball on a kickoff. But… Read more »
I didn’t hear the boos when Brennan Armstrong entered the game. Maybe it was because I was yelling, myself, at how stupid it was of our coaching staff to make such a dumb move with the game on the line. And with this team, and with our coaches, the game is on the line the entire 60 minutes. We do not play to put the other team away. But back to the utter stupidity of even having a “special package for Brennan Armstrong.” All that does is make our offense one-dimensional, taking away any threat of a pass while he… Read more »
DD’s decision to sit on the ball up 4, and 2:34 left in the first half is maddening and shouldn’t be overlooked. Marshall came right back down and scored. Of course the D gave up some plays and got some blame but the O never should have put them in that position. It’s sad to see DD has not adapted. DD is determined to keep every game within one score and keep things tight. BC, ECU and Louisville are all great examples. Please play to win – a few other ACC team did today (look at FSU and UNC). We… Read more »
We definitely have some work to do int he secondary and with contain, but a performance on defense that I feel is not reflected in the score. Good growing pains game that showed some positive development in a single game from Morris. Great to see a barrage of balls thrown over the middle of the field for once this season! The booing was in reaction to Armstrong coming onto the field, but it was 100% directed at Doren and Anae. The fans are upset and have lost faith in the decision making of both coaches when it comes to offense.… Read more »