By Jeff Gravley
RALEIGH, N.C. – This has been a year of defensive adjustments for the NC State coaching staff. From an injury standpoint they have lost four starters for the season in LBs Isaiah Moore and Peyton Wilson, DT C.J. Clark and S Cyrus Fagan.
Saturday, starting nickel Tyler Baker-Williams missed the game due to injury. Who had the first interception of the game? Joshua Pierre-Louis, who moved into the starting spot with the injury to Baker-Williams.
Head coach Dave Doeren said defensive end Savion Jackson “tweaked something” during the game very early on and missed most of the Pack’s 28-14 win at Florida State, but one of his replacements, Ibrahim Kante, recorded a sack late in the fourth quarter.
“You not only fill the void of a good player with the next player, but the guys around that player have to play a little bit better. Just a little bit,” Doeren explained.
This defense has refused to succumb to injuries and thrived on the challenge.
“It’s becoming a theme with us, really,” safety Tanner Ingle said. “Next man up, regardless of the situation.”
Ingle recorded a career-high 13 tackles. In his first career start, LBDevon Betty tied his career-high with 7 stops
When the defensive coaching staff found out pregame that Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis would miss the game with the flu, their game plan had to change immediately.
“We worked on quarterback run game all week,” Doeren said. “They did a nice job of not getting that one out in the news. We had no idea we were gonna be playing a throwing quarterback instead of a running quarterback.”
The Seminoles entered the game second in the ACC with 209 yards rushing per game. But in the first half, FSU was in the negative in rushing and at the end of the day they posted a season low 38 yards on the ground.
But really, the most important defensive stat is how many points did you give up. The Pack’s defense continues to make it incredibly tough for opponents to reach the end zone. The Wolfpack entered the game surrendering 16.3 points per game, second best in the ACC and sixth in the nation. Florida State got 14 points.
Doeren likes the flexibility of their defensive scheme and was quick to point out how coordinator Tony Gibson has handled the many personnel changes.
“I think coach Gibson deserves some credit for the chemistry he’s creating on that side of the ball,” said Doeren. “These kids understand what he wants. They know how to do it for him, and they’ve got a mean streak while doing it. I love that about them.”
Third down success on both sides of the ball heavily favored the Wolfpack. The defense forced FSU into a 2-of-16 conversion rate while the offense was 8 of 18 on third down.
The most memorable came on a third-and-10 screen from Devin Leary to Ricky Person, Jr. The Pack back avoided one tackle and got a huge pancake block from guard Derrick Eason to clear the path for a 43-yard score that iced the game.
Leary had his third straight game of over 300 yards passing and his second consecutive game with 4 touchdown tosses. Person, C.J. Riley, Christopher Toudle and Trent Pennix (another long third down conversion) hauled in scores.
Pennix had his best day as a Wolfpack receiver with a career-high 97 yards on three catches. Porter Rooks caught a career-high 5 passes gaining 39 yards.
That’s four out of five wins for NC State over Florida State which sets up a big-time game next week on the road against division leading Wake Forest. The Wolfpack trails the Deacons by one game in the Atlantic Division.
Kind of a big game next week, Doeren was asked after the win over Florida State. “Kinda,” he said with a big smile.
The head coach wanted to enjoy the win in Tallahassee for a few hours. There’s plenty of time to look ahead to next week’s challenge.
