#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.
Team speed of the front seven needs to be improved or it going to be a long next year.
Doeren was afraid that Mack Brown might criticize him.
Those damn white on white on white uniforms did it again.