NC State 29 Georgia Tech 30: BY THE NUMBERS

NC State watched their 6th win of the season slip out of their hands in the final minute of the game in Atlanta tonight, losing 29-30 to Georgia Tech. Here’s a look at the game BY THE NUMBERS.

The Wolfpack had more total yards than the Yellow Jackets (400/391), but they were unable to overcome turning the ball over three times. Georgia Tech scored 14 points off of those turnovers.

Georgia Tech only had 1 turnover, and NC State failed to score any points off of it.

The Yellow Jackets won the time of possession battle, possessing the ball for roughly 7 more minutes.

To be honest, I have no clue why Dave Doeren didn’t opt to try to complete a short pass with 6 seconds left on the clock. Instead, he sent out Collin Smith, who isn’t the Wolfpack’s primary place kicker, to attempt a 58-yard field goal with the wind gusting.

Mind numbing.

Not that this matters in the big scheme of things, but NC State covered the spread for only the third time this season. They were 9-point underdogs entering the contest.

True Freshman Quarterback CJ Bailey has looked like a True Freshman the past two games, and tonights performance was the worst game of his college career. Bailey was 17 of 30 for 147 yards and 3 interceptions (0 passing touchdowns). In all fairness, if it wasn’t for what Bailey did with his legs, the Wolfpack wouldn’t have even been in this ball game. Bailey rushed for a career high 87 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Redshirt Freshman Running Back Hollywood Smothers averaged 11.3 yards per carry, rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Bailey couldn’t get anything going with his top two receiving targets this evening. Sophomore Wide Receiver KC Concepcion had 3 receptions (7 targets), and Junior Tight End Justin Joly had 3 receptions for 11 yards.

Redshirt Senior Running Back Jordan Waters led the Wolfpack with 45 yards receiving on 3 receptions.

Redshirt Junior Linebacker Sean Brown led the Pack with 10 tackles. Redshirt Senior Linebacker Devon Betty had 2 tackles for loss. Senior Safety Bishop Fitzgerald picked up his third interception of the season, which leads the team.

NC State has now lost 3 ACC games this season by 7 or less points.

The Wolfpack football program enters the final game of the regular season fighting for dear life to make a bowl game.