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Where it Went Wrong for NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl…

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#18 NC State had a chance to win 10 games for the 2nd time in school history tonight, but fell short, losing to #25 Kansas State 19-28.

Where did it go wrong?

The Wolfpack allowed the Wildcats to rush for 258 yards, which is the most an opponent has rushed against them all season. Sophomore DJ Giddens was a workhorse, rushing the ball 28 times for 152 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 37 yard touchdown reception.

Stopping the run is what Tony Gibson defenses do. Not tonight.

Also, to start the game, the play calling looked more like the play calling in the season opener against UCONN, and not the regular season finale against UNC. It was extremely run heavy, with hardly any shots down field.

The Wildcats’ first touchdown was on a 4th and 6 play where they went for it on the Wolfpack 37-yard line. NC State Safety Sean Brown didn’t pick up K-State Running Back Giddens coming out of the backfield, and the result was a 37-yard touchdown on a busted play.

In the beginning of the 2nd Quarter, NC State went for it on 4th and 1 on the Kansas State 10-yard line, and they were unable to convert on a Brennan Armstrong QB sneak. Walking away with 0 points in that situation was brutal.

Kansas State faked a punt, and the Punter proceeded to run the ball 30 yards for the first down. The Wildcats were punting from their own 29-yard line. The end of the drive resulted in a 3-yard touchdown by Giddens.

With 8 seconds left in the first half, Armstrong threw a perfect pass to Keyon Lesane, that went right through his hands. Had he caught it, it would have been 7 points for the Pack, instead of a 26-yard field goal by Brayden Narveson.

Armstrong is a warrior. There is no denying that. He rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Oddly enough, Armstrong became the first Wolfpack player to rush for 100+ yards this season. Through the air, it wasn’t Armstrong’s night. He was 14 of 28 for 164 yards, with 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. Armstrong’s Passing Efficiency Rating of 92.1 was his lowest rating of the season. Not a recipe for a victory in a bowl game.

With that being said, NC State wouldn’t have even been in this game without the Armstrong’s resilience.

The Wolfpack lost this game in the trenches. NC State’s O-Line wasn’t up to the task against Kansas State’s pressure, and the D-Line started off poorly, tightened up, but then looked gassed at the end.

The absence of Payton Wilson was felt from the opening snap. There’s no way Gidden’s would have had the day he had if #11 was on the field, but that’s not taking anything anyway from the Kansas State Running Back. He was phenomenal, and seemingly impossible to bring down at times. In my opinion, he deserved the MVP honor more than Quarterback Avery Johnson.

Talking about Wilson’s absence isn’t the narrative I want to paint. The reality is, Kansas State was missing way more starters than NC State was, but you wouldn’t have known it tonight.

I thought for sure that NC State would have come into this game wanting it more than Kansas State, but I’m not sure for one moment tonight it looked that way.

The 2023 season might have been Dave Doeren’s best coaching job yet at NC State, but this loss definitely leaves a sour taste in your mouth, considering this game was winnable for the Wolfpack.

 

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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wolfpack74
wolfpack74
4 months ago

Team speed of the front seven needs to be improved or it going to be a long next year.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
4 months ago

Doeren was afraid that Mack Brown might criticize him.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
4 months ago

Those damn white on white on white uniforms did it again.

NC State Football

Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?

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Earlier this week it was announced that NC State and Virginia would play one another in a home-and-home series, with the Wolfpack hosting in 2025, and the Cavaliers hosting in 2026.

Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.

As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.

It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.

I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.

This situation brings to mind the bill that has been proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play App St., ECU and UNC Charlotte in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball.

If the addition of UVA means the elimination of App St. on NC State’s schedule, what are your thoughts? Share in the comments.

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NC State Football

CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

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CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.

16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)

Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.

ACC Coaches that made the Top-25

3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

8. Mike Norvell (FSU)

16. Dave Doeren (NC State)

19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

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NC State Football

NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

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Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.

The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.

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This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.

Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.

Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.

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NC State Football

NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

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NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.

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To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.

Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.

It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.

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