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NC State Football

NC State Can’t Handle Notre Dame, Falls 35-14

Published

7 years ago

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NC State ran into a monster today.

Notre Dame is the real deal, and the Wolfpack hasn’t faced a team close to their caliber thus far this season.

Louisville and Florida St. have shown their true colors since NC State beat them, and they aren’t pretty.

The Wolfpack made things very interesting in the first half. Reserve Defensive End James Smith-Williams blocked Notre Dame’s punt, and  Linebacker Germaine Pratt recovered it in the endzone for a touchdown.

Notre Dame responded with a two play 60-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Brandon Wimbush to Tight End Durham Smythe.

In the second quarter NC State continued to control the game, going up 14-7 on a insane one-hand 15-yard touchdown catch by Kelvin Harmon.

But the Irish did the same thing they did before. They responded with a 3-yard touchdown keeper by quarterback Brandon Wimbush.

That was the end of any semblance of a competitive football game. Notre Dame went on to score 28 unanswered points.

The Wolfpack came in as the #6 rush defense in the country, but they hadn’t played Notre Dame running back Josh Adams yet. He rushed for 202 yards and a touchdown.

With NC State running back Nyheim Hines leaving the game early with a turned ankle, the Wolfpack offense was thrown off-kilter. Jaylen Samuels was forced to the backfield, removing him from where he is most dangerous in the passing game. Reggie Gallaspy wasn’t able to reproduce the production of Hines.

Thus the weight of the game fell upon the shoulders of Wolfpack Quarterback Ryan Finley, who could never get anything going. He finally threw his first interception of the season, which was returned for a touchdown. He entered the game completing nearly 70% of his passes on the season, but only completed 47% against the Irish. Countless passes were deflected and broken up. The Wolfpack offensive line was unable to stop the Irish pass rush, and the NC State receivers were unable to get separation.

The Wolfpack also committed an audaicous 12 penalties. Notre Dame made two miracle catches that were inches away from being out of bounds.

It wasn’t NC State’s day.

Well, I would be remiss to not mention that it was Wolfpack Wide Receiver Kelvin Harmon’s day. He had 7 receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown.

As deflating as this loss is for NC State and their fans, this loss did zero to hurt their pursuit of an ACC championship. Dave Doeren has been preaching a philosophy of focusing on one game at a time, and that will be imperative this week.

Clemson is on the horizon.

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

NC State Football

Congrats to NC State Football’s Spring Graduates!

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2 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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Congratulations to the 7 NC State Football Players that just graduated this Spring.

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2024 Football Spring Graduates

Linebacker Devon Betty (1 year of eligibility)

Defensive End Davin Vann (1 year of eligibility)

Cornerback Aydan White (1 year of eligibility)

Offensive Guard Anthony Carter Jr. (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Matt McCabe (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Tackle Patrick Matan (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Brendan Lawson (no longer on the roster)

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NC State Football

Proposed Bill in the NC House Would Require NC State & UNC To Play One Another, as well as ECU, UNCC and App St.

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2 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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A bill has been proposed by members of the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play one another, as well as East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

According to House Bill 965, which you can read here in full, NC State and UNC would be required to play one another annually in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball. The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels would also be forced to play a game annually in all three sports against either ECU, UNC-Charlotte or App St. Every six years, NC State and UNC would be required to have played a home and away game against each of the three school in all three sports.

Here’s the exact wording from the proposed bill:

Competition Required. – A high-enrollment institution shall do all of the following in each eligible sport: (1) Every academic year, play at least one home or one away game against (i) another high-enrollment institution and (ii) an eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. (2) Every six academic years, play at least one home and one away game against each eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. A high-enrollment institution shall alternate home and away games that are scheduled against the same eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution.

For glossary of terms being referenced above:

For the purposes of this bill, “High-enrollment institutions” = NC State and UNC, while “Eligible constituent institutions” = East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

It’s worth noting that NC State already has games schedule against each of these teams home-and-away in Football between now and 2031.

2025 – East Carolina (H)

2025 – @ App St.

2026 – App St. (H)

2028 – @ East Carolina

2030 – Charlotte (H)

2031 – @ Charlotte

What are your thoughts?

For more details, check out this article at WRAL.

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NC State Football

Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. will Take an Official Visit at NC State Next Week

Published

3 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. (6’1″/195) confirmed with me that he will be taking an Official Visit to NC State next week beginning on May 7th.

After receiving an offer from NC State yesterday, it didn’t take him long to set up the visit.

Martin Jr. is familiar with NC State, because he was recruited by Wolfpack Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson before he left West Virginia to come to Raleigh. Even though he never coached him, a relationship was established.

Martin Jr.’s connections to NC State are deeper than that. Former NC State Cornerback Derrek Pitts, who is currently a member of the Tampa Bay Bucs, is his cousin.

This past year, Martin Jr. recorded 45 tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 pass breakups for Akron, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. His PFF Grade was 68.9.

In 2022, he had 53 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass breakup, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. Martin Jr.’s PFF Grade was 60.9.

In 2019, as a Freshman for West Virginia, Martin Jr. earned PFF Freshman All-American honors, recording a grade of 70.6, with 50 tackles and 3 pass breakups.

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NC State Football

NC State Sits in the Top-20 in 247’s Post-Spring 2024 Preseason Poll

Published

4 days ago

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May 1, 2024

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247’s Brad Crawford released his Post-Spring 2024 Preseason College Football Top-25 recently, and NC State moved up 1 spot to #20.

ACC Teams in the Top-25

11. FSU

14. Miami

16. Clemson

20. NC State

24. Virginia Tech

25. Louisville

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