Thursday Football Notebook

Game 6: NC State Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (2-3, 0-1)
October 9, 2015 • 8 p.m. • ESPN/ESPN3
Blacksburg, Va. • Lane Stadium (66,233)

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
The Wolfpack travels to Blacksburg this week for a rare Friday night matchup with Virginia Tech. In its history, NC State football has played 36 games on Fridays, but just 12 since ACC play began in 1954. Since then, the Wolfpack posts a 5-6-1 record in Friday contests, including wins in the 1972 Peach Bowl (vs. West Virginia) and the 1990 All-American Bowl (vs. Southern Miss).

The last time NC State played a conference game on a Friday night was a 28-30 loss to UNC on the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1995. The last Friday night game for the Wolfpack was the 2012 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game vs. Tennessee.

NC STATE VS. VIRGINIA TECH
The series between NC State and Virginia Tech has been a sporadic one. From 1900-1925, the teams played each other 19 times. After a nine year break, the series resumed in 1934 and featured 20 games from then until 1964. After the '64 games, the Wolfpack and the Hokies did not meet again until 1986 and have played nine times since then.

A dozen of the 48 games in the series have been played in Raleigh, 14 have been in Blacksburg and 22 have been played at a neutral site. The Hokies hold a 26-18-4 advantage in the all-time series, with the last Wolfpack win coming in Blacksburg in 2004 - a 17-16 nailbiter.

The squads have met four times since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004.

BRISSETT CONTINUES STREAK
In just 18 games as an ACC quarterback, Jacoby Brissett now holds two of the top eight interception-free streaks in ACC history.

Brissett threw 187 passes without being picked off in 2014 - the seventh-longest streak in ACC history. He has currently gone 217 straight without a pick, tied as the second-best current streak in the FBS (Dak Prescott, Mississippi State, 225 attempts, 22 quarters) and now the fifth-best in league history.

The senior has been INT free for 34 quarters, dating back to the Georgia Tech game on Nov. 8, 2014. In the eight games games since, he's thrown for 12 touchdowns.
Last season, of Brissett's paltry five picks, only one came in a road game. He has 172 pass attempts in true road games, 198 attempts including the bowl game.

ALL-TIME ACC INTERCEPTION FREE STREAKS

Rk.	Player, School	Passes	Year(s)
1.	Russell Wilson, NC State	379	2008-09
2.	Drew Weatherford, Florida State	270	2007
3.	Christian Ponder, Florida State	237	2009
	Chris Weinke, Florida State	237	1999
5.	Jacoby Brissett, NC State	217	2014-15

DOING IT DEFENSIVELY
The Wolfpack currently ranks in the top 10 in the FBS in almost every team defensive category, including third in total defense with just 225.8 points allowed per game. No team has scored more than 21 points on the Pack this season. Here's a look at the Pack D in the FBS stats:

Rk.	Category	Mark
t-1st	4th down conversion defense	.000
3rd	Total defense	225.8
6th	Rushing defense	80.2
t-7th	1st down defense	62
9th	Passing yards allowed	145.6
10th	3rd down conversion defense	.258
11th	Scoring defense	13.6
17th	Passing efficiency defense	102.09

ROAD WOLVES
The Wolfpack has won its last five games away from Carter-Finley Stadium, winning at South Alabama (63-13) and at ODU (38-14) this season, and defeating Central Florida (34-27) in the Bitcoin Bowl, stomping UNC (35-7) in Chapel Hill and winning at Syracuse (24-17) in 2014.

NC State's five straight victories away from its home field marks the most since a stretch from 1973 to 1974 and only the third time in school history that has been accomplished (also won 5 in stretch from 1962-1963).

TDS FOR DAYES
Running back Matt Dayes had a stellar start to his junior campaign, tying for second in the FBS with 10 rushing touchdowns and posting four consecutive 100+ yard rushing games to open the season.

At the beginning of his junior campaign, he has moved into sixth-place in school history in touchdowns with 28 and his 10 rushing touchdowns already tie for 10th for a single-season in school history and is the best for a Pack player in a single season since 2002 - just five games in!

He currently ranks second in the ACC in touchdown scoring and is tied for seventh in the FBS in overall scoring.

Dayes became the first State player since Joe McIntosh in 1981 to top the 100-yard rushing mark in four straight games. His 77-yard TD run at South Alabama was the ninth-longest in school history and the longest for a Pack player since 2001.

Last season, Dayes was one of just three players nationally with more than 300 yards rushing, receiving and in returns (Jamal Morrow of Washington St. & Temple's Jahad Thomas were the others). He was the ONLY player nationally to reach those marks and also boast five or more touchdowns rushing and receiving in 2014.

JAYSAM'S THE MAN
Fullback/tight end/touchdown scorer extraordinaire Jaylen Samuels seems to have the magic touch when it comes to finding the endzone. The sophomore currently ranks second in the ACC (to teammate Matt Dayes) in touchdown scoring with nine touchdowns in 2015.

Although he is tied for 13th in the FBS in scoring, Samuels' touchdown-to-touch ratio might be leading the nation. "JaySam" has nine touchdowns in just 37 touches (12 rushes, 25 receptions) in 2015. In the season opener, he scored three touchdowns in just four carries.

For his career, Samuels averages 11.1 yards every time he touches the ball. He currently leads the Wolfpack in receptions with 25, a mark which ranks seventh in the ACC.

SENSATIONAL SOPHS
For the second straight season, 70% of the Wolfpack squad is made up of freshmen and sophomores. Those young players, particularly the sophomores, are making a big impact on the Wolfpack defense.

Ten of NC State's top 14 tacklers this season - including the top four - are all sophomores: Josh Jones (25), Airius Moore (22), B.J. Hill (20), Bradley Chubb (18). Hill ties for the team lead in tackles for loss (5), Chubb ties for the team lead in sacks (2), while Chubb also leads the team in QB hurries (4) and all three interceptions this season have been by ... you guessed it: sophomores - Jerod Fernandez, Germaine Pratt and Mike Stevens.

ABLE MAPLES
The Wolfpack ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 13.6 points per game in the first four contests. Some of the credit for those impressive numbers should go to redshirt freshman kicker Jackson Maples.

Maples has kicked off 33 times for the Wolfpack this season, including the opening kickoff of all five contests. Of those 33 KOs, 2/3s (22) have been touchbacks.

Players Mentioned

Jacoby Brissett

Bradley Chubb

Jerod Fernandez

B.J. Hill

Josh Jones

Jackson Maples

Airius Moore

Germaine Pratt

Jaylen Samuels

Mike Stevens

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