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It’s time for NC State to rip off the rearview mirror, so the only place to look is forward.
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The team, after its blowout loss to Virginia, looks to bounce back this week after plenty of reflection.
While the Wolfpack spent most of last week’s bye on a mission to fix mistakes from its season opener, it is now looking straight ahead.
“We know we’re a better offense than that,” running back Duke Scott said on Tuesday. “We know we have better playmakers than what we showed on that Saturday. We’re ready to get back on the field and prove that.”
What lessons has the team learned and what did it see in its film review?
A lot.
First, offensive coordinator Kurt Roper recognized there were play calls that would’ve been better suited for different points of the game, or the team wasn’t set up well enough for the call.
CJ Bailey struggled to find a rhythm in the backfield and was rarely on schedule. Roper said that didn’t necessarily change his play calling decisions. He was more focused on trying to extend drives.
“When it comes to a game, it’s such a different mindset than in practice,” Roper said. “In a practice, you get your script. You get to work on all the situations and scenarios, and every play is going to get run. Well, in the reality, when they turn the scoreboard on, you’ve got three plays to get three more plays, and I was just trying to find a way to stay on the field after a certain point.”
Teague Andersen said the offensive line needs to be better at commanding the line of scrimmage to facilitate the run game. Most of N.C. State’s rushing yards came on quarterback reads, as opposed to designed runs.
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The offensive line’s pass blocking was one of the positives from the loss, grading out at 73 on Pro Football Focus. Comparatively, the run blocking graded at 61.2. Last season the Wolfpack had six games with pass blocking grades above 73, and only two on the road.
Keenan Jackson, a wide receiver, said the team learned it’s not where it wants to be and the offense’s lack of execution put the defense in a difficult spot.
“I’m not the best at losing at all. Play Saturday, (then) Sunday, Monday, I’m in my feelings. I’m mad about it,” Jackson said. “But on Tuesday. It’s time to come back to practice, it’s time to go to work. You got to leave it. You got to flush it at some point, or else it’s just kind of lingering into you know your next game week.”
Head coach Dave Doeren said he and Bailey are “pissed off at the world” but they’re owning it. The team has hope that it can turn things around. The Wolfpack didn’t like the feeling that followed the 34-8 loss, Scott said.
It has an opportunity to return to the win column this Friday against Richmond. The Wolfpack is heavily favored, but a win won’t be sufficient. N.C. State looks to dominate and limit errors. The Spiders’ visit to Carter-Finley Stadium is not only about getting back into the win column but putting preparation into practice and the way the team plays.
Doeren called the loss a “reality check” and said moments like those can be significant in the long term, as uncomfortable as they are in the immediacy.
“Sometimes you hear people talk about you all summer, and you forget how hard it is to win a football game. We were playing a really veteran, old football team in that game. We didn’t play the same way they did,” Doeren said of Virginia. “They were executing, they were playing together, and we were pressing, is how it felt to me. It’s a learning opportunity. We have a lot of football left. … Like I told them, ‘(Virginia) gave you a good blueprint last year. We beat that team, and then they won 11 games.’”
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