Game Thread: Clemson Comes to Town

First of all….Boo and stuff!!!!

Happy Halloween to all of you.

And some inspiring, if not spooky, Wolf themed quotes to set the mood…

“Throw me to the wolves & I’ll return leading the pack”
-Unknown

“Those are the voices of my brothers, darling; I love the company of wolves.”
-Angela Carter

“Wolf! Right here, right now!”
-Peter Straub/Stephen King

Literature, bitch!!!!

–

Wolfpack Football (5-2, 1-2 ACC) bounced back last week, getting a much needed victory at Wake and snapping a two game losing skid.

Honestly, it really only took 15+ minutes of good football to better the Deacs last weekend. But the Pack needs to put together a full 60 this weekend at home as the competition ramps up considerably with the #3 Clemson Tigers (7-0, 4-0 ACC) coming to Raleigh. The Tigs are coming off a 58-0 woodshedding of Miami (AT Miami, btw) last weekend during which they looked….well, pretty good.

Kickoff is 3:30pm, ABC/ESPN2 split (ABC locally, Channel 11)

–

House Money vs Trap Game

Both are overused terms IMHO, but both fit today.

Clemson hosts FSU next week. In their minds, that is likely their biggest hurdle (with possible exception of a potential ACCCG appearance) to landing in the CFB Playoff. Will they be looking ahead? Stranger things have happened.

Defense is likely to win this one for whichever team prevails. And in spite of being favored by 10.5 points, this expert agrees Clemson’s road value might be overstated in this line…

Losing to Clemson, even badly, will not likely break the Pack’s season. Beating them however, could very well be a season maker, instilling confidence in a young team. Not to mention getting another win.

A win which would give the Pack bowl eligibility, btw.

So play loose, try to minimize errors/penalties, hope Clemson comes out tight, and let’s see what happens. What could go wrong???

In any case, save for Jerod Fernandez State is pretty healthy going into the game. Hopefully they still will be coming out of it, win or no.

–

Big Opportunity for NC State Against No. 3 Clemson (GoPack.com)

Renowned for its boisterous atmosphere, Carter-Finley has earned the reputation of bringing out the best in recent Wolfpack teams in games of this magnitude. A year ago against top-ranked Florida State, the Pack jumped out to a 24-7 lead before eventually falling, 56-41. In 2012, NC State shattered No. 3 FSU’s national title hopes with a come-from-behind 17-16 triumph over the Seminoles. The year before that, the Wolfpack took down a Clemson team ranked seventh, 37-13.

A big opportunity beckons again for the 2015 Pack, which will need all the home cooking it can muster against a Clemson team that has won 10 straight games dating back to last season.

“Just knocking off the No. 3 team in the country on our home field would be really good,” said State fullback Jaylen Samuels. “For our program, people would look at us differently.”

This Clemson team, coach Dabo Swinney’s eighth in Death Valley, seems to be improving with every game. Over the last three games, the Tigers have averaged 45 points and 545 yards of total offense. It’s a three-game stretch that culminated with last weekend’s stunning 58-0 demolition of Miami on the road. On the other side of the ball, Clemson ranks fourth in the nation in total defense (262.3) and seventh in scoring defense (14.3). In the aftermath of the win over Miami, the Tigers received six first place votes in the AP Poll.

NC State a threat to undefeated Clemson (NewsObserver.com)

N.C. State (5-2, 1-2 ACC) was the last unranked team to knock off the Tigers, historically noted as the last act of “Clemsoning,” back in 2011 at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack, and Georgia Tech last year, are the only ACC teams outside of FSU to beat the Tigers since the start of the 2011 season.

“We know they will be jacked up for the Tigers to show up,” said Swinney, whose seventh-ranked Tigers lost 37-13 at N.C. State on Nov. 19, 2011. “It’s a tough place to play, we all know that.”

Swinney called Carter-Finley Stadium “one of the best places to play in this conference.” The Wolfpack won three of its past five home games against top 10 teams.

The two losses, 26-14 to No. 3 Clemson in 2013 and 56-41 to No. 1 Florida State last year, were two of the most inspired performances by the Wolfpack under third-year coach Dave Doeren.

Incidentally, the past five times a top ten opponent has entered Carter-Finley, they’ve thrice returned home with a loss. And the two wins did not come easily for the opposition.

No. 1 FSU L, 56-41 Sept. 27, 2014
No. 3 Clemson L, 26-14 Sept. 18, 2013
No. 3 FSU W, 17-16 Oct. 6, 2012
No. 7 Clemson W, 37-13 Nov. 19, 2011
No. 9 FSU W, 20-15 Nov. 5, 2005

JG talks Clemson with DD…

–

The Pack will be going with the traditional home unis today…

Reppin’ the classics with a red & white Fashion #STATEMENT presented by @belk for homecoming weekend pic.twitter.com/apKpkGviwk

— #CLEMvsNCSU (@PackFootball) October 27, 2015

But in three weeks….

Thank you @adidasFballUS & @NCStateFBEquip for our new alternate uniform… #IronWolf https://t.co/Zj8M5STrW6 pic.twitter.com/Y08NCSLpN4 — Dave Doeren (@StateCoachD) October 29, 2015