Thursday Football Notebook
10/13/2016 8:31:00 AM | Football
Thursday Football Notebook
Game Day Central | Game Notes | @PackFootball
Back-to-Back Road Games at Top-10 Schools Starts Saturday
Game 6: NC State Wolfpack (4-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. #3 Clemson Tigers (6-0, 3-0 ACC)
October 15, 2016 • 12 p.m. • ABC/ACC Network Extra
Clemson, S.C. • Memorial Stadium (81,500)
THE TEXTILE BOWL
For the past 35 years (since 1981), the series between NC State and Clemson has been dubbed the Textile Bowl, as that industry has a major economic impact on both states and both universities boast renowned textile colleges. Â
NC State's College of Textiles produces more than half of the textile graduates in the nation each year. The North Carolina textile manufacturers donate money to NC State's scholarship fund every year in honor of the Wolfpack's MVP from the game.
PACK LOOKS TO END STREAK
Heading into Saturday's contest, No. 3 Clemson has won 44 consecutive games over teams not ranked by the Associated Press. The last loss by the Tigers to an unranked team was to the Wolfpack in 2011.
The Wolfpack celebrated its Homecoming that season with a 37-13 victory over the seventh-ranked Tigers, exploding for 27 unanswered points in the second quarter.
The defense forced four turnovers and tallied six sacks in the game.
PACK GAINS LEAD, POSTS POINTS VS TOP 10
Clemson will mark the third top 10 team that NC State has faced in the past 2-1/2 seasons. The Tigers were ranked No. 3 last year when they won in Raleigh and the Pack faced top-ranked Florida State in 2014.
In each of those games, Dave Doeren's squad scored 41 points. Unfortunately, each of those opponents scored 56 points.
Last year's game against the Tigers boasted five lead changes (all before halftime), with the Wolfpack jumping out to an early lead and the teams each scoring a pair of TDs in the first quarter. QB Jacoby Brissett (now with the New England Patriots) threw for three scores and no INTs, while Clemson's Deshaun Watson threw for five scores.
In 2014, the Wolfpack opened up with a 24-7 lead over the No. 1 Seminoles and was within four points entering the fourth quarter before falling 41-56. Â
500 YARDS
NC State enters game 6 ranked fifth in the ACC - 44th in the FBS - in total offense with 444.4 yards per game. That number is despite gaining only 198 total yards while playing in driving rain and wind in the win over Notre Dame.
NC State has posted over 500 yards in total offense in three of five games in 2016. In 2015, the Wolfpack gained 500+ yards just three times the entire season, did so just twice in 2014 and just once in 2013. The Wolfpack has had more 500-yard offense games in entire seasons that this year's five-game total just twice: 2012 (four) and 2003 (five).
Prior to this season under new offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz, the Pack had never posted 500+ yard outputs in three of its first four games. The most was two of the first four in 1998.
RAINY DAYES
It was only fitting that on a day that a hurricane sharing his name wreaked havoc on the state, Matthew Dayes would post his ninth career 100-yard rushing game. Dayes managed an impressive 5.5 yards on his 23 carries, gaining 126 total yards, including the longest offensive play of the day - a 28-yard run - and the second-longest - a 23-yard run that set up a first-quarter field goal. He was also the leading receiver with 3 catches for 14 yards.
Dayes ranks 3rd in the ACC and 16th in the FBS in rushing this week (112.6 ypg). An impressive 47% (266 of 563) of his rushing yards have come from yards after contact in 2016.
Dayes became the 13th player in NC State history to go over the 2,000-yard mark in game 3 vs. ODU. He now boast 2,253 career rushing yards - the 11th best mark in school history. He has tallied 3,528 career all-purpose yards (9th in school history) and his 5.7 yards-per-rush mark is the best ever for a Pack runner. Â
Dayes hadn't played a game in 306 days before this year's season opener due to a season-ending foot injury suffered last season against Clemson (10/31/15). He has now posted 100-yard rushing games in 9 of his last 12-1/2 outings (he was injured in the first half of game 8 last season).
His 27 career rushing touchdowns is the fifth-best mark ever for a Pack runner. In terms of overall scoring, he is tied for fourth with Wolfpack Hall of Famer Torry Holt with 33 TDs.
Last season Dayes, who was named to the 2016 watch lists for the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards, was the first State runner since 2002 to rush for 100+ yard in five straight games. He is responsible for two of the 10 longest rushing plays in school history (85 yards vs. Wake Forest, 77 yards vs. South Alabama).
STOPPING THE RUN
NC State has been outstanding stopping the run in 2016, allowing just 91 ground yards per game. That mark leads the ACC and ranks 8th in the FBS. Â
Three Wolfpack opponents (William & Mary, Wake Forest and Notre Dame) posted rushing totals less than 70 yards, while the highest total this season has just been 148 yards by ECU.
The opposition has scored just five rushing touchdowns this season (three by ECU) and none in the last two games.
NO TOs
The 2015 Wolfpack set a school record for fewest turnovers, losing the ball on an interception or fumble just 13 times.  This season, the Pack is continuing that stingy patttern, with just five turnovers in five games (t1st in ACC, t10th in the FBS).
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Ryan Finley is the only starting QB in the ACC who has not thrown an interception this season and the Pack starter has also not lost a fumble in 2016.
The six interceptions thrown by quarterback Jacoby Brissett (now with the New England Patriots) last season tied as the second-lowest mark since 1953, while the seven fumbles lost in 2015 was also one of the lowest marks in school history.
Since 1953, only seven Wolfpack squads have posted single-digit totals in both interceptions and fumbles lost. In the past 48 years (since 1967), only four teams have accomplished that mark, and two of those squads were coached by Dave Doeren.
FOCUSED FINLEY
With a .695 completion percentage, first-year Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley is one of the most accurate throwers in the FBS so far in 2016. He ranks 2nd in the ACC and 8th in the FBS in completion percentage.
That accuracy mark was even higher before a 5-12 outing against Notre Dame in Hurricane Matthew and he led the nation during the first month of the 2016 season.
The Phoenix, Az., native has 128 pass attempts this season and has thrown for nine touchdowns with no interceptions. In the last 37 seasons (dating back to Tol Avery in 1980), no other Wolfpack QB has attempted more passes before throwing his first interception as a starter at NC State. Finley boasts a 161.31 passing efficiency mark - the 2nd-best in the ACC and 13th in the FBS. That mark would rank as the 2nd-best single-season mark in school history (only to Philip Rivers) if the season ended today.
Finley, a redshirt sophomore who started three games at Boise State in 2015, completed 17 of 21 pass attempts for an .809 mark in the season opener - the best completion percentage for a Wolfpack quarterback in his debut as NC State's starter dating all the way back to 1971 (with the exception of Brandon Mitchell in 2013, who broke his foot after opening his first game with 3-3 passing). Â
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Game Day Central | Game Notes | @PackFootball
Back-to-Back Road Games at Top-10 Schools Starts Saturday
Game 6: NC State Wolfpack (4-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. #3 Clemson Tigers (6-0, 3-0 ACC)
October 15, 2016 • 12 p.m. • ABC/ACC Network Extra
Clemson, S.C. • Memorial Stadium (81,500)
THE TEXTILE BOWL
For the past 35 years (since 1981), the series between NC State and Clemson has been dubbed the Textile Bowl, as that industry has a major economic impact on both states and both universities boast renowned textile colleges. Â
NC State's College of Textiles produces more than half of the textile graduates in the nation each year. The North Carolina textile manufacturers donate money to NC State's scholarship fund every year in honor of the Wolfpack's MVP from the game.
PACK LOOKS TO END STREAK
Heading into Saturday's contest, No. 3 Clemson has won 44 consecutive games over teams not ranked by the Associated Press. The last loss by the Tigers to an unranked team was to the Wolfpack in 2011.
The Wolfpack celebrated its Homecoming that season with a 37-13 victory over the seventh-ranked Tigers, exploding for 27 unanswered points in the second quarter.
The defense forced four turnovers and tallied six sacks in the game.
PACK GAINS LEAD, POSTS POINTS VS TOP 10
Clemson will mark the third top 10 team that NC State has faced in the past 2-1/2 seasons. The Tigers were ranked No. 3 last year when they won in Raleigh and the Pack faced top-ranked Florida State in 2014.
In each of those games, Dave Doeren's squad scored 41 points. Unfortunately, each of those opponents scored 56 points.
Last year's game against the Tigers boasted five lead changes (all before halftime), with the Wolfpack jumping out to an early lead and the teams each scoring a pair of TDs in the first quarter. QB Jacoby Brissett (now with the New England Patriots) threw for three scores and no INTs, while Clemson's Deshaun Watson threw for five scores.
In 2014, the Wolfpack opened up with a 24-7 lead over the No. 1 Seminoles and was within four points entering the fourth quarter before falling 41-56. Â
500 YARDS
NC State enters game 6 ranked fifth in the ACC - 44th in the FBS - in total offense with 444.4 yards per game. That number is despite gaining only 198 total yards while playing in driving rain and wind in the win over Notre Dame.
NC State has posted over 500 yards in total offense in three of five games in 2016. In 2015, the Wolfpack gained 500+ yards just three times the entire season, did so just twice in 2014 and just once in 2013. The Wolfpack has had more 500-yard offense games in entire seasons that this year's five-game total just twice: 2012 (four) and 2003 (five).
Prior to this season under new offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz, the Pack had never posted 500+ yard outputs in three of its first four games. The most was two of the first four in 1998.
RAINY DAYES
It was only fitting that on a day that a hurricane sharing his name wreaked havoc on the state, Matthew Dayes would post his ninth career 100-yard rushing game. Dayes managed an impressive 5.5 yards on his 23 carries, gaining 126 total yards, including the longest offensive play of the day - a 28-yard run - and the second-longest - a 23-yard run that set up a first-quarter field goal. He was also the leading receiver with 3 catches for 14 yards.
Dayes ranks 3rd in the ACC and 16th in the FBS in rushing this week (112.6 ypg). An impressive 47% (266 of 563) of his rushing yards have come from yards after contact in 2016.
Dayes became the 13th player in NC State history to go over the 2,000-yard mark in game 3 vs. ODU. He now boast 2,253 career rushing yards - the 11th best mark in school history. He has tallied 3,528 career all-purpose yards (9th in school history) and his 5.7 yards-per-rush mark is the best ever for a Pack runner. Â
Dayes hadn't played a game in 306 days before this year's season opener due to a season-ending foot injury suffered last season against Clemson (10/31/15). He has now posted 100-yard rushing games in 9 of his last 12-1/2 outings (he was injured in the first half of game 8 last season).
His 27 career rushing touchdowns is the fifth-best mark ever for a Pack runner. In terms of overall scoring, he is tied for fourth with Wolfpack Hall of Famer Torry Holt with 33 TDs.
Last season Dayes, who was named to the 2016 watch lists for the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards, was the first State runner since 2002 to rush for 100+ yard in five straight games. He is responsible for two of the 10 longest rushing plays in school history (85 yards vs. Wake Forest, 77 yards vs. South Alabama).
STOPPING THE RUN
NC State has been outstanding stopping the run in 2016, allowing just 91 ground yards per game. That mark leads the ACC and ranks 8th in the FBS. Â
Three Wolfpack opponents (William & Mary, Wake Forest and Notre Dame) posted rushing totals less than 70 yards, while the highest total this season has just been 148 yards by ECU.
The opposition has scored just five rushing touchdowns this season (three by ECU) and none in the last two games.
NO TOs
The 2015 Wolfpack set a school record for fewest turnovers, losing the ball on an interception or fumble just 13 times.  This season, the Pack is continuing that stingy patttern, with just five turnovers in five games (t1st in ACC, t10th in the FBS).
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Ryan Finley is the only starting QB in the ACC who has not thrown an interception this season and the Pack starter has also not lost a fumble in 2016.
The six interceptions thrown by quarterback Jacoby Brissett (now with the New England Patriots) last season tied as the second-lowest mark since 1953, while the seven fumbles lost in 2015 was also one of the lowest marks in school history.
Since 1953, only seven Wolfpack squads have posted single-digit totals in both interceptions and fumbles lost. In the past 48 years (since 1967), only four teams have accomplished that mark, and two of those squads were coached by Dave Doeren.
FOCUSED FINLEY
With a .695 completion percentage, first-year Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley is one of the most accurate throwers in the FBS so far in 2016. He ranks 2nd in the ACC and 8th in the FBS in completion percentage.
That accuracy mark was even higher before a 5-12 outing against Notre Dame in Hurricane Matthew and he led the nation during the first month of the 2016 season.
The Phoenix, Az., native has 128 pass attempts this season and has thrown for nine touchdowns with no interceptions. In the last 37 seasons (dating back to Tol Avery in 1980), no other Wolfpack QB has attempted more passes before throwing his first interception as a starter at NC State. Finley boasts a 161.31 passing efficiency mark - the 2nd-best in the ACC and 13th in the FBS. That mark would rank as the 2nd-best single-season mark in school history (only to Philip Rivers) if the season ended today.
Finley, a redshirt sophomore who started three games at Boise State in 2015, completed 17 of 21 pass attempts for an .809 mark in the season opener - the best completion percentage for a Wolfpack quarterback in his debut as NC State's starter dating all the way back to 1971 (with the exception of Brandon Mitchell in 2013, who broke his foot after opening his first game with 3-3 passing). Â
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Players Mentioned
Coach Doeren Weekly Press Conference (Sept. 8)
Monday, September 08
FB Players Postgame Presser vs Virginia
Saturday, September 06
Coach Doeren Postgame Presser vs Virginia
Saturday, September 06
Pack Rewind 🎥 : East Carolina
Wednesday, September 03