The Redzone was a Nightmare for NC State in Their 19-29 Loss to Duke

The redzone was a nightmare for NC State in their 19-29 loss to Duke this afternoon.

The Wolfpack offense was able to get to the Redzone 6 times, and only managed to get the ball into the end zone only once. On the other 5 times, NC State settled for 4 of 5 field goal attempts.

True Freshman CJ Bailey looked like a True Freshman, playing the worst game of his collegiate career. He was 16 of 39 for 184 yards with 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 1 lost fumble. His completion percentage was 41% and his passing efficiency rating was 84. Prior to today, his lowest completion percentage in a single game was 64%, and his lowest passing efficiency rating was 120.5.

I don’t have the stat numbers on this, but the Wolfpack Receivers dropped pass after pass. Could Bailey have thrown more accurate passes? Sure. Nonetheless, every one of those drops could have been caught. A drop by Justin Joly ended up in the hands of a Duke Defensive Back, which led to a touchdown three plays later.

The Wolfpack defense did more than enough to win the game. Don’t let Duke’s 29 points fool you into believing the blame for this loss falls on their shoulders. NC State held the Blue Devils to 276 yards of total offense. I would argue that 12 of Duke’s points don’t fall on the shoulders of the Wolfpack defense. Obviously, 2 of those points are the Safety on NC State’s first offensive possession. Then, Duke started on the NC State 32 yard line and 20 yard line off of the Wolfpack’s 2 turnovers, which resulted in 10 points.

The NC State defense held Duke to 1.1 yards per carry.

The Blue Devils were 0-9 on 3rd down.

The Wolfpack offense simply couldn’t finish.

Sophomore Wide Receiver Kevin Concepcion looks like a shell of the player he was last year, dropping at least 3 passes. He finished with 0 receptions, and 1 carry for 4 yards.

NC State’s offensive line looked like porous rock. Duke’s defense was in Bailey’s face all game long, and held the Wolfpack’s rushing attack to 2.9 yards per carry.

The current state of the NC State football program is nothing short of disappointing. The Wolfpack started the season ranked 24th in the AP Poll, and there was even hype about this being a team that was a dark horse to make the College Football Playoff. With all of the skill players that were added this offseason, expectations were sky high.

Did anyone expect Grayson McCall to retire from football? Did anyone expect CJ Bailey to have to put this team on his shoulders? No.

Is it hard to get 40+ new players to gel? Sure, but every team is having to deal with that reality in the era of the Transfer Portal.

There is no excuse for this team to be fighting for bowl eligibility with two games remaining. To be frank, where things currently stand, this is the most disappointing season of Dave Doeren’s tenure.