Thursday Football Notebook

Game 4: NC State Wolfpack (3-0) at South Alabama Jaguars (2-1)
September 26, 2015 • 8 p.m. (ET) • ESPNews/ESPN3
Mobile, Ala. • Ladd-Peebles Stadium (40,000)

NC STATE VS. SOUTH ALABAMA
NC State will face the Jaguars of South Alabama for the third time in history on Saturday, although it will mark the first time the teams have met on USA's home field. South Alabama visited Carter-Finley Stadium in 2011 and 2012, with the Wolfpack earning 35-13 and 31-7 wins respectively.

Joe Gottfried, the father of Wolfpack men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried, was the Director of Athletics at South Alabama for 25 years before retiring in 2009. He negotiated the series with the Wolfpack several years before his son came to Raleigh in 2011.

WIN STREAK
NC State enters the game at South Alabama having won its last six games, dating back to last season. That streak ties with Clemson for the longest current streak in the ACC.

It marks the most consecutive wins for the Wolfpack since the 2002 campaign, when the Wolfpack opened the season 9-0 en route to an 11-3 campaign.

HIT THE ROAD, PACK
After opening the season with two resounding home victories, the Wolfpack is on the road for six of its next eight contests. The extended road trip started with the win at Old Dominion last week, will continue in Mobile and then after a quick trip back to Carter-Finley to take on Louisville, the Wolfpack will travel to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

The Wolfpack has won its last four games away from Carter-Finley Stadium, winning last week at ODU (38-14), defeating Central Florida (34-27) in the Bitcoin Bowl, stomping UNC (35-7) in Chapel Hill and winning at Syracuse (24-17). The last time NC State won four in a row away from home was in 2002.

A victory at South Alabama would mark the first time since a stretch from 1973 to 1974 that an NC State squad has posted five victories in a row away from home and only the third time in school history that has been accomplished (also won 5 in stretch from 1962-1963).

THE TOTAL PACKAGE
NC State ranks second nationally in total defense this week, with just 188.3 yards allowed per game. The Wolfpack held Old Dominion to just 148 total yards and -3 rushing yards (lowest rushing total for a Pack opponent since 2009).

Almost half of ODU's total yards came on one play - a 70-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

The Wolfpack ranks second nationally in first downs allowed (28)

BRILLIANT BRISSETT
Senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been exceptional in the first three games of 2015. He currently ranks third in the FBS in completion percentage with a blazing .778 mark despite playing while ill at Old Dominion.

In his 16 career games, Brissett has posted a 62.7 completion mark, second only in school history to Philip Rivers. His 2015 passing efficiency mark of 165.1 ranks 19th in the FBS and his career mark of 141.72 is also the second only to Rivers as the best mark ever for a Wolfpack QB.

Brissett, a preseason candidate for the Manning, O'Brien and Unitas Awards, opened his senior campaign against Troy by completing 12 straight passes before an incompletion and posted a .913 completion mark. The last time a Wolfpack player posted a percentage as high was Terry Jordan vs. UNC in 1992 (23-25, .920).

TIME IS ON OUR SIDE
The Wolfpack offense continues to be the most greedy in the FBS, with a division best 40:36 minute time of possession average per game. That mark is SEVEN minutes higher than the ACC's second-ranked team in that category.

NC State held the ball for 41:34 in the season opener - the highest time of possession in 93 games (since a 43:07 ToP in an OT win at Miami in 2007). That game marked the second in Dave Doeren's Wolfpack tenure that the Pack posted a 40+-minute time of possession. In his first game as head coach for the Pack, his offense held the ball 40:45 vs. La Tech (2013).

The Pack repeated the feat against Eastern Kentucky, as the offense was on the field 40:04, and then against vs. ODU with 40:12.

Before Doeren's arrival in Raleigh, the Pack had only held the ball more than 40 minutes twice in 235 games (2007 vs. Miami and 40:26 vs. FSU in 2002) dating back to the 2007 season. Since Doeren's arrival, it's happened four times in 28 games.

Since time of possessions began being kept for every game in 1981, no Wolfpack squad had ever posted back-to-back 40+ minute games - the 2015 squad has done it in three straight contests.

TOUCHDOWN, JAYSAM!
Fullback/tight end/touchdown scorer extraordinaire Jaylen Samuels seems to have the magic touch when it comes to finding the endzone. The sophomore is currently tied with teammate Matthew Dayes for third in the ACC in scoring with six touchdowns in 2015.

But his touchdown-to-touch ratio might be leading the nation. "JaySam" has six touchdowns in just 25 touches (10 rushes, 15 receptions) in 2015. In the season opener, he scored three touchdowns in just four carries.

For his career, Samuels averages 9.89 every time he touches the ball. He currently leads the Wolfpack in receptions with 15, a mark which ties for fifth in the ACC.

MONEY DOWN
A big point of emphasis for the Wolfpack defense is performance on third down - or what the Pack calls the "money down." The squad has been successful in that category, which is evidenced by the fact that State's defensive unit is only averaging 55 snaps per game.

The Wolfpack ranks second nationally in first downs allowed (28) and in defensive three & outs, having forced them on 22 of 35 opponent drives.

GIVEAWAYS, TAKEAWAYS
With just one turnover - a fumble - in three games this season, the Wolfpack is among the best teams in the FBS and tied for the ACC lead with Florida State in that category.

On the flip side, NC State has forced just two turnovers in 2015 (a Mike Stevens interception and a fumble caused and recovered by Dravious Wright in the season opener).

HAPPY DAYES
Running back Matt Dayes has had a stellar start to his junior campaign, posting three consecutive 100+ yard rushing games and scoring six touchdowns. He is currently is tied for third in the ACC (with teammate Jaylen Samuels) and 13th in the FBS in scoring.

In the opener, Dayes rushed for a career best 126 yards and led the Wolfpack in rushing and receiving (5-65). He ranks second in the ACC in rushing with 116.7 yards per game (21st nationally) and third in the league (30th nationally) with 146.7 all-purpose yards per game.

Dayes is the first player since Joe McIntosh in 1981 to open the season with three straight 100-yard rushing games and the first since 2002 (T.A. McLendon) to do so in three-straight games.

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.

Dayes led the Wolfpack with both 1,278 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns and won team Offensive MVP honors in 2014.

BRISSETT STREAKING (AGAIN!)
Jacoby Brissett threw 187 passes without being picked off in 2014 - the seventh-longest streak in ACC history. He currently has another streak going, as he has not thrown an interception in his last 156 attempts, over 26 quarters, dating back to the Georgia Tech game on Nov. 8, 2014 (the Wolfpack's last loss). In the five games games since, he's thrown for nine touchdowns.

Last season, of Brissett's paltry five picks, only one came in a road game. He has 149 pass attempts in true road games, 175 attempts including the bowl game.

His streak is currently the third-longest in the FBS

Players Mentioned

Jacoby Brissett

Matthew Dayes

Jaylen Samuels

Mike Stevens

Dravious Wright

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