A lot of things came to an end for the Wolfpack today in their 30-24 loss to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. Their 3 game winning streak, their reign as the #1 defense in the nation, and Russell Wilson's consecutive passes without an interception streak. Wake Forest was fifth in the ACC in passing yards per game, and today they showed why. Riley Skinner, a fifth year senior and four year starter, ravaged NC State's young secondary, completing 31 of 45 passes for a mammoth 361 yards and 3 touchdowns. The NC State front line was good. Their defense sacked Riley Skinner six times, the most Skinner has ever been sacked. Willie Young scooped up three sacks, and Leroy Burgess scooped up a fumble and added an interception to lead the line's dominant play. They took the third ranked running game in the ACC and bottled them up, allowing only 30 yards on the ground, however, it was through the air that the Wolfpack was beaten. When Skinner had time, he was on point, threading the needle, and making plays outside the pocket to keep the chains moving.
On the other hand, NC State's superstar Russell Wilson wasn't able to get it rolling against the Deacs. The offensive line struggled to give Wilson time to set his feet and throw leading to numerous throw aways and two interceptions. The first interception came on his 16th pass of the game in the 2nd quarter when he launched an off balance bomb down the middle to Owen Spencer. The throw was way off target to the right and was picked off by Josh Bush. This was the first interception in 379 attempts, spanning 14 games.
Wilson's struggles were in part due to the inability to get the running game going. Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene combined for an anemic 60 yards. The Wake frontline was intent on not letting Baker and Eugene beat them, and they did a good job.
"We knew we couldn't stop Russell Wilson" Said Wake Coach Jim Grobe, who went on to discuss Wake's game plan to stop the run.
In the end it was a combination of things that led to the Pack's defeat. Penalties (8 for 85 yards), missed tackles and a young secondary.
"Our secondary is young and after today people are probably going to be shooting for them. It's not that they're not talented, it's just a lot of miscommunication. This means I need to step up as a leader and help them be better." said senior DE Willie Young
This loss puts the Wolfpack at 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. Now it's time for NC State to turn the page and get ready for their next game. When asked about the team's attitude , WR Owen Spencer, who was the first Wolfpack reciever this season to eclipse the 100 yard mark in a game, said this: "Our attitude is basically that we have to go out there and beat Duke next week."
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11 Responses to "Skinner, Wake Too Much For Wolfpack"Can we please bench Ruiz and let Chris Ward take over the punting duties. field position killed us today and it nearly killed us against pitt. Its time for some changes to be made with this team.
When it comes to the kicking game, I think the greatest concern is on kickoff and kickoff coverage.
Watching Skinner continue to pick apart the zone defense was frustrating for me. It wasn't working, yet we stuck with the same strategy. We might have had some sacks, but felt we should have had more. Except for those few times we got in the backfield, we weren't getting much push...Skinner seemed to have all the time he wanted.
Needless to say, my wife was reminded why I shouldn't be around kids while watching the Pack.
we got beat in every aspect of this game and wake still allowed us a chance to win it at the end... i agree with the kicking game coverage but i would also like to add to our return game... it seems as though half the time we don't even make it back to the 20... one kickoff was broken out around the 45 but it's not good enough... i think we need to look at someone new back there
State lands two more recruits.
Tyler Brosius and Dontae Johnson
I have just now become calm enough to speak about the game after the disappointing outcome. Few thoughts on this monday morning...
1. We will go ONLY as far as our secondary takes us...
2. Our Defense will only be as good as the feild position the kicking game gives them.
3. W/O some type of run game, Russell Wilson will be keyed on more and more, trying to make him one demintional.
4. Tackling still is a concern... look no farther than the last play of the game.
5. The Defensive from 7 is as good as Ive seen at state since the Super Mario days...
6. STOP GIVING UP STUPID PENALTIES. The celebration penalty on Sweezy was rediculous, but some others were just ignorant.
With improvement and hard work in practice, we can still be a good team, but everyone has to get better.... Now everyone sees why TOB called his team "not good yet"
I hear you Pack Leader. It's pretty frustrating. There are lots of things that a team can do wrong and still win a game. Rarely does any team do everything right. This team does a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong during the course of a game.
TOB will surely be on the players asses for the stupid penalties, and at least you can hang your hat on that. Whether they respond or not, is up to the player.
The throws for the two interceptions were as bad as I've seen Wilson throw. But, neither time did the receivers even hint at fighting for the ball. Not even a hint. I would expect more from Bowens, at least. Bowens can block with the best of them, but he is not ready to have balls thrown to him right now. TJ has to have the ball spoon fed to him. Spencer is still sporadic, at best. Williams and Darrell Davis have been our most consistent pass catchers, so far IMO.
No running game. It seems like, when we line it up with a full back and two tight ends, we can get push and create holes. When we run the 'spread option' our zone blocking is nowhere near as good and we become very one dimensional. This team should think about running a more pro-style offense. The 'Spread' is gimmicky, and it's not what these coaches are about. they are going to have to institute a more conventional offense for Glennon anyway, eventually. We have great Tight Ends, a great Full-Back, good Running Backs. Right now, we are counting on less QB protection in exchange for more receivers on the field. as explained before, we only have two dependable Wide Receivers, anyway. Why not get Gentry and Bryan to block and receive for you and let Graham and Spencer spell Williams and Davis? The O-line is better, right now, at a straight ahead blocking scheme. It's less complicated, and the defense can't pin their ears back on every play. Rant over. Out.
At least the Holes lost to a terrible team.
Go Pack.
amen PP!!!
I totally agree about the formations. I could even see us atleast mixing it up, against Pitt we still tryed to establish the run but at times would mix it up and throw a 4 wide set when they were lined up for the run. We became one dimentional no doubt.
I said after the Pitt game the play of the game was a 4th & 14. After this game the play of the game HAS to be a 3rd & 25 from the 27 and Skinner tourches our 6db set deep to win the game... miscommunication or blown assignment, either way that CANT be tolerated!!! Like Willie said, "Its my job as a captian to encourage and motivate these guys" Hopefully he can help them... but Morgan also needs to step up and show leadership on the feild... Rashard Smith is greatly needed eventhough hes a freshman himself
I don't understand the defensive call on 3rd and 23. The only time we stopped WF passing game was with pressure. When we only rushed 4 on that play, I knew he would pick apart the secondary, and given the circumstances, why not risk getting burned on a blitz anyway. My guess is we could have hurried if not sacked him again and they would have had to settle for 3. Could have really changed the outcome.
Whether you blitz or not, giving up that TD on 3 and 21 was inexcusable - Johnson was WAY out of position. I won't even mention the tackling of a former starter whose brother plays for the Chiefs. Now, we see why Rashard Smith beat him out in the pre-season. The secondary killed us in this game...that and the awful tackling on special teams. Time to step it up against Duke. We should win by 2-3 TD's.
"N.C. State also moved redshirt freshman Terrell Manning ahead of Dwayne Maddox at boundary linebacker." - N&O
He brings something extra to the table. And after what I saw against Pitt, this change would have helped us last week. I didn't hear Maddox's name called once at Wake. But you heard Manning's name mentioned every other play once he got into the game, whether he was turning the play to the inside or getting to the ball carrier, he was changing the game.
With all of these young guys, everyone has to remember...they are young guys. They're gonna make mistakes. They have to be corrected. The poor tackling on Saturday wasn't just from the newbies, however. All of them have to learn how to wrap that man up. you should never count on hitting a guy so hard that he just falls down. That should be evident in practice everyday.
There has been changes in the depth chart that I'm sure WPP will post soon. Most are TOB opting for more experience. But I will hold of on the topic until the Depth Chart Post.
Congratulations on your first start Terrell!
Go Pack!
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