ACC Football – NC State vs Campbell Preview

NC State v Campbell

North Carolina State will take a break from a two-game skid in conference play and will look to get back into the win column on Saturday afternoon against Campbell in Raleigh, N.C.

Campbell’s last opponent was Western Carolina, and the Fighting Camels lost 42-35 after giving up 427 yards to Catamounts quarterback Taron Dickens. 

It’s hard to predict what an FCS team will bring fully, but if there’s any way to compare them to NC State, the only Division I program Campbell has faced this season was East Carolina in week two, losing 56-3 against the Pirates. NC State beat East Carolina 24-17 in week one. 

Another way to try to figure out the talent level of this Campbell squad is to see how they match up with other FCS opponents. They most recently lost to Western Carolina, who also played Wake Forest this season. The Cantamounts lost to the Demon Deacons 42-10 in week two of the season. 

In terms of statistical leaders, quarterback Kamden Sixkiller is the signal caller for the offense. In five games, he’s 116-for-194 for eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Running back JJ Cowans leads the team in rushing with 163 yards on 39 carries. Wide Receiver Randall King leads in receiving by a wide margin with 28 receptions for 333 yards. The next closest receiver in terms of yardage is Parker Jones with 97.  Defensively, only one player on the team has recorded a sack according to ESPN, and it’s linebacker DaVonyae Pettis, who has two on the season. 

North Carolina State (3-2) started the season on a three-game winning streak, including a home win over now 24th-ranked Virginia. On Saturday, the Wolfpack will dip back into l non-conference play following a tough day on the ground in last weekend’s 23-21 home loss to Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack struggled to run and stop the run against the Hokies, rushing for only 59 yards and allowing 229. North Carolina State leaned heavily instead on CJ Bailey, who threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.

“This is a game saying for two weeks and say it again it’s about us,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. “We got to get better in certain areas. The areas that we really wanted to improve in last week, we did.

“Discipline was an area that we hurt ourselves quite a bit in the Duke game (45-33 loss on Sept. 20), and we felt like we improved in those areas, but execution at the line of scrimmage on both sides has got to improve.”

FCS program Campbell (1-4) will travel 45 minutes north to the state capital after a loss to Western Carolina last week. The Fighting Camels trailed 28-3 before making it a close contest, led by Kamden Sixkiller with 205 passing yards and three total touchdowns (two rushing). Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox caught five passes for 124 yards, and Stevie Keener added three grabs for 50 yards and a TD.

Prediction: 

NC State should win this one comfortably. 

Wolfpack 50 Campbell 7