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NC State Football

NC State Versus Syracuse | Week 12 | Preview and How to Watch

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2 years ago

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NC State Wolfpack vs. Syracuse Orange
Date: Saturday, November 20th
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Carter-Finley
TV: ACCN
Line: State -11.5

 

Syracuse Preview
The Orange have had a wild up and down year. Sitting at 5-5, they easily could be 8-2. In three consecutive weeks, they lost by three to FSU, Wake (OT) and Clemson. Brutal.

If you’d like to sum up this Syracuse offense in two words, it’d be ‘running team’. And not like State “running team” where you think they run and then never really do with much success. Sean Tucker has been on an absolute roll this year. The 5’ 10”, 210 pound “covid freshman”, is pushing 1,400 yards on the ground with 11 touchdowns. He’s also the Cuse’s second leading receiver. Garett Shrader is “fine” at QB, but where he’s productive is running. Completing on 51% of throws and a 2-1 TD-INT ratio, Shrader has ran the ball 140 times for 713 yards and 13 touchdowns. So in short, Syracuse has ran for 26 touchdowns and only thrown for 8 all year.

The Syracuse defense is steady and strong through the center of the line. They’ll get sacks and make things tough running the ball, but the secondary is where they struggle. Syracuse is just inside the top-100 pass defenses, somehow only getting three interceptions on the year. With that, their turnover margin is -5, floating with the UConn’s, Vandy’s and Rice’s of the world (not good). Strong linebacker crew holds things together long enough to give their offense a chance.

 

Keys to a Wolfpack Win

-Just start throwing it – Totally could picture State opening up the playbook, a week after they should have. This DB crew of Syracuse can keep up with BC’s WR, but not State’s. Attack the sidelines and deep throws. Get the running backs involved with quick screens to the outside. While Leary had some shaky moments last week, we’re back at home sweet home.

-Protect Carter-Finley – Speaking of which, can’t emphasize enough the need to win out these last two games at home. Hold steady in the conference standings, finish undefeated in one of the best atmospheres there is and beat a team you should beat and your biggest rival. Carter-Finley needs to be a win each and every time. Make it truly a place no school wants to travel to.

–Can State D produce stops – The tipping point is 22 carries for Sean Tucker. If he goes over that, Syracuse is finding success and getting their ground game going. If it’s less? Somehow State has stepped up again and showed how strong their rush defense can be.

-Dreaded Third Downs – Hello darkness my old friend…State needs to find a way to make plays defensively and get off the field. Syracuse ranks 107th in offensive 3rd down conversions. When you’re rush heavy and have unreliable QB play, these third downs of over five yards need to be State’s bread and butter. Make. The. Throw. This point also goes for State’s offense too, let’s limit the 3 and outs.

Prediction

If this is a close game, it means it was an ugly game. State has the receiving core to do damage and their running game has been fantastic for a better part of the year. Those two aspects alone, if they play to their standards, should be enough to give State the big win. Special teams, penalties and bad tackling can change that in a heartbeat, however. Keep it simple and move the chains.

State 33-24

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Papajohn
Papajohn
2 years ago

Definitely a test of the coach’s ability to get their heads out of the WF loss, and focused on the rest of the season.

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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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17 hours ago

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May 17, 2024

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

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1 day ago

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May 16, 2024

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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 vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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

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3 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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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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