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1) This was huge victory for NC State football. It had been 5 years since we beat a top 25 team- and it was a road win. We tried to give it away with 2 critical mistakes. But at the end, we made the plays we needed to make on both offense and defense to win the game. We have some talented recruits in the fold this year that can be a part/continuation of this foundation and keeping the staff in tact is key to that.
2) The DL and Chubb specifically were awesome. The Db’s made some plays too.
3) Samuels gets deserved praise but Finley has been incredibly steady and mature. Folks, we have a man back there and it shows. He may not start in the NFL, but I will be surprised if he doesn’t hold a clipboard.
4) Fans, we are up. DD hasn’t had a chance to play a game like this nor have his players, they need a great home field advantage Saturday vs a Syracuse team that won’t be a pushover.
5) Nyheim Hines – 94 yards on 24 carries. Not bad for an undersized back.
6) Fantastic job by OL. If we can keep these 5 together/ unsuspended sky is the limit.
7) speaking of that, has the trenches for the Wolfpack ever looked better?
FSU really hurt themselves with penalties. Our guys played a pretty clean game. If we can keep consistent with the kicking game and figure out how to stop a kickoff return, we may do much better than expected this year. This was the defense I’ve been waiting to see and I’m glad the OC is finally using J Sam to the extent I thought we should have last year. I thought this was a real team win and I’m very happy for our coaches and players. And please, no more celebrations. That penalty (subsequent short field position), the safety and the blocked kick almost snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Our margin for error is still pretty slim.
My take away was that unlike all the “experts” pronouncements the talent level wasn’t so different. Granted had FSU played their regular schedule some of the rust (stupid plays and idiotic penalties) would have been less likely). Blackman play one heck of a game for them. We do need to work on on filed discipline a bit more We will win as a team and lose as a group of individuals.
All in all I thought a great performance but no not perfect. Keep the energy and cut down on the “me” stuff a bit going forward.
We had a great game against FSU. Packi and I were debating a bit yesterday though whether this one could be interpreted as a sign of better things to come, or whether we caught FSU ripe for an upset and will promptly regress to the program’s norm. Beating FSU was fantastic, but means NOTHING if we don’t come out and take care of business against Syracuse on Saturday. MOC beat FSU down in Tallahasse when they were GOOD, but then would lose the next week to a weak team.
It is one thing for coaches to say that Syracuse is just as important, but they have to believe it and the players do as well. Here’s to hoping we have enough Senior leadership on this team that they really do get it. If this were a young NC State team, I’d expect we’d lose Saturday.
Against FSU, a few things stood out to me…
Good:
– We looked equally matched talent wise. That speaks to our player development and S&C.
– Our QB has clearly improved. Last year he was good against weak teams, but average at best against the strong ones. The play to push the ball out of the back of the end zone may have saved the game for us.
– We have the best collective OL and DL together that I can remember at NC State. I am convinced that football is won in the lines (and with the QB). We have a great OL coach and I think that will continue to just get better. We had a great DL coach. It will be interesting to see where the DL is in a year or two.
– JaySam is a once a generation player for a school like NC State. We are getting spoiled by him.
– We kicked the ball out of the end zone on kick offs. Thank goodness.
– We made a legitimate attempt to find balance on offense. Hines surprised me in his ability to get yards against FSU. I figured we’d have to have had Gallaspy to run inside.Bad:
– Killer instinct…. We just don’t have it. I thought we took the foot off the gas too early in the fourth.
– Punt block……. ugh…
– Secondary: We made more plays this week, but I still think teams can go over the top.I want to add the following “Good.” In 6 trips inside our Red Zone FSU got 1 TD, 4 FGs and a missed FG. That IMO is better than good defense, that is outstanding. If FSU converts 2 of those FGs into TDs we are looking at needing to score again at the end of the 4th Qtr to prevent a loss. Anybody want to be trying a FG to win? Me neither.
Bad:
– Killer instinct…. We just don’t have it. I thought we took the foot off the gas too early in the fourth.When do you think we took our foot off the gas? We drove 75 yards for a touch down in our opening drive of the 4th quarter. We started our 2nd drive from our own 3 yard line and fumbled the snap resulting in a safety. Our next possession we ran the ball twice — we successfully ran the ball earlier in the quarter — and threw incomplete on 3rd down — the same shovel pass that JaySam scored on earlier. The punt attempt was blocked. After the FSU FG we ran the clock out.
I just don’t see where we took our foot off the gas. Yes, maybe in the past but not Saturday. Dominating the opponents DL with the run game with a lead is not “taking your foot off the gas.”
– Secondary: We made more plays this week, but I still think teams can go over the top.
FSU thought they could “go over the top” but the QB didn’t have time to get set and throw. They made some nice connections throwing to the sideline, but not over the top. Going over the top in theory is not the same as doing it with Chubb, Hill, Jones, Street and Roseboro in your face or you running for your life.
Not once did FSU connect “going over the top.” I don’t see how you can say that is “Bad” simply because you think it can be done at some time in the future.
Was the punt block our bad or FSU’s good? We can do better but let’s give FSU some credit.
I too felt a little bit like we let off the gas in the 3rd quarter, but I don’t recall anything specifically to back up that feeling either.
On the other side of things, DD went for it on 4th and 1 on our first TD. I would not have made that call, but it was the right call because we needed to get all we could early on. It’s like playing the Patriots. Get as far ahead as you can and then hold on with all you have.
Overall, I liked the play calling mix, Felt like we were trying to maintain possession and move the ball, while sprinking in something unique here and there to keep them honest.
Question: I wasn’t paying attention to Harmon, but did FSU do anything to take him away or was it something else?
Btw, I do feel we caught a break with getting FSU on Blackman’s first game though.
“Btw, I do feel we caught a break with getting FSU on Blackman’s first game though.” – this is a true statement, but you still have to capitalize and take advantage of the situation. I think the percentage of DD detractors that still expected to win going into the 4th quarter is pretty small.
Great win. Celebrate it, and then move on the next victim.No question about it we caught a break there.
That’s beside the point though. And yes, 2 months from now this victory will be in hindsight..we will have all the data to know whether this was a turning point for the program or Notre Dame 2.
What it means regardless at this time is that we beat a team we could have very easily and according to the odds makers should have lost to…and really what has held back the perception of this program in terms of the fan base is the difficulty we have had in specifically these types of games. Remember, in his first 4 years he had only beaten 4 other teams (vs 8 other teams.)
No matter how you look at it, it’s progress.
My comment about getting Blackman was purely an expression of gratitude, not dismissive of the team’s performance.
I felt good about the game from the start fwiw. Heck, I actually left home right before the safety and drove to Wise Man Brewing in Winston to enjoy Octoberfest and finish watching the game with friends. #confidence? 😉
Gso – Wiseman is one of my favorites. I actually ended up watching the 4th quarter at Sammy’s – had to split up the ride back from Wilmington.
I too felt a little bit like we let off the gas in the 3rd quarter, but I don’t recall anything specifically to back up that feeling either.
What could have caused that feeling was that we ran the ball most of the 4th Qtr. Our O-line was dominant and we were successful running the ball, so why not run it? We threw when we needed to throw. Had we not thrown when we needed to, I wouldn’t say we took our foot off the gas but worse, we would have been playing not to lose. So I get what you and Rye say, I just invite you to take a second look. Running when you are successful isn’t taking your foot off the gas. We were whipping one of the best D-lines around.
OL wore down fsu kind of like they did last year to Clemson..this time we sealed the deal. If I recall correctly we did better offensively than bama did vs the noles.
Huge test next 2 games.
Catching their QB playing in his first game ever no doubt played a part in the win, but we also caught some luck when Auden Tate, FSU’s leading receiver, got injured in the 2nd quarter after amassing 9 catches for 136 yards and a TD. Another stroke of luck was Matthew Thomas, their leading tackler last season, going out for the game in the 1st quarter. We caught ’em banged up for sure.
The stars aligned, but the big take away for me was that we finally didn’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, regardless of FSU’s roster woes. And a win on the road is always sweet.
There’s still a lot to prove, however.
Call it luck if you wish but I’d say we were very physical and FSU wasn’t up to the task. Just my preference to give our players credit instead of saying we were lucky.
Repeating myself I’m sure but FSU didn’t have to play a freshman Quarterback. They’ve got other QBs on their roster. They probably thought it wouldn’t matter against a 2 TD underdog with a coach who can’t coach and can’t manage the game clock. One who is boring and dumb as a box of rocks — or so I’ve heard.
I was impressed with Blackman. I can’t remember how many passes he got off just as he was about to be hit that were spot on. True he had some misses of an open receiver but man that young man has some cahones. Also, impressed with how many times he got knocked down and kept on going. That brings to mind a question, is it just selective memory or did our secondary get burned a number of times on the outside? Seems those were the same plays were you thought Blackman was going to get sacked but he got it away and then their receiver made an outstanding catch. Besides the special teams and short kicks, that still is an area where I think we could use some improvement. Not putting that on our players since I’m not smart enough to know if its execution or planning but it seemed a weak spot for us.
@Grey: 14 point underdogs? What book are you playing at?! How can I get in on that action? Vegas books and offshore books had us as 10 pt underdogs.
I like to give the players credit for the win as well as point out the reality that we needed all the help we could get in the form of injuries to opponents key players and an opposing QB getting his first minutes ever in college. It’s what I like to call “not burying your head in the sand”.
I agree with Alias. We played well, but I also think we caught FSU at the right time. We were their second game of the year, first with a new true freshamn QB. My concern is that Freshman played very well against us. Time will tell how good a win this was. The key is using the momentum to build a good season. A WTF game will hurt a great deal.
Allowing 27 points wasn’t because they had a freshman quarterback, now was it? We had injured players as well as they did. Their 5-star RBs weren’t true freshmen. Let’s just say then that FSU (gasp!) got out coached. Just plain out coached. They didn’t have to play a freshman QB.
Sure Blackman was impressive but why didn’t FSU use those 4 & 5-star O-linemen to push it in when they got in the Red Zone? 6 times in the Red Zone and they got 1 TD and 4 FGs. And which team missed a chip shot FG? It won’t NC State. How many sacks did FSU get vs the NCSU O-line?
Put your head in the sand and blame that loss on having a freshman QB if it suits you but it’s a bunch of bull IMO.
@Grey: 14 point underdogs? What book are you playing at?! How can I get in on that action? Vegas books and offshore books had us as 10 pt underdogs.
I don’t play at books. I heard FSU opened at 12 points but like you said it could have closed at 10.
A popular excuse for FSU is they were rusty. Well, they were also rested.
I remember another true freshman starting his first college game, a guy named Philip Rivers. If you lose one excuse is as good as another. Let’s stop the excuse making for FSU. They lost. Period. That’s the reality, Alias.
I simply look at what happened on the field. In this game the Pack imposed their will. Maybe if FSU had not had those injuries, but we could also say the same for the Pack. At the end of the year it will be a win for the Pack and a loss for the ‘noles.
I seem to remember a poster dismissing Grey’s posts when he used injuries to excuse NCSU losses last year. Now injuries are being used to explain away the win over FSU. Interesting how the script gets flipped to support a narrative.
Time and place – the Pack imposed their will. The next question is can they (will they) do that going forward. I think the table is set but it is what happens on the field that will tell.
I seem to remember a poster dismissing Grey’s posts when he used injuries to excuse NCSU losses last year. Now injuries are being used to explain away the win over FSU. Interesting how the script gets flipped to support a narrative.
Great point! But don’t forget there’s two side to that coin. Now a win and key injuries to other team didn’t make a difference.
At the end of the day, we need to take care of business against Syracuse.
Good win. Credit to both sides of the ball. Still room for improvement.
For me, the good:
1. Made field goals
2. Exploited FSU’s weaknesses–QB and O’line plus their speed/aggressiveness
3. Maintained poise in and responded in spite of some hiccups late
4. Pressured the QB
5. Improved DB and LB playAreas for improvement:
1. I generally think Drink calls a good game between the 15-20’s, but red zone calls leave something to be desired. Slow developing runs outside or short passes to the outside; too often goes away from what’s been successful at critical times; it’s like he has a bag of tricks and needs to use them instead of sticking with what works. Even the 4th down successful TD was a head scratcher imo given the previous sequence.
2. Nothing we can change immediately, and our line strength will allow us to compete, but I still we look slow in the back 7. Maybe some improvement there as injured players return, but NC, Ville’, and CU will better exploit those than Jimbo and a Fr. QB on Saturday after a lay off. Hux gonna have to dial it up more going forward.
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