North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Looking to Get Back in Win Column Against Familiar Foe
9/13/2016 9:46:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. – With the Wolfpack returning to home action this weekend against Old Dominion, NC State seeks to shake off last week's disappointing loss by focusing solely on the game ahead.
A forward focus will be key, as the Pack faces its third straight non-conference foe a week before an early-season bye week.
"We had some missed opportunities, we left some plays out on field," said quarterback Ryan Finley. "(ECU) was a tough loss, we look forward to moving on and getting ready for Old Dominion."
NC State and Old Dominion are familiar foes, facing off in each of the last two seasons. The Pack won in Raleigh in 2014, 46-34, and repeated the feat last year in Norfolk, 38-14.
"We played them two years in a row, so familiarity is always good," said linebacker Airius Moore.
One area of strength the Pack will continue to utilize is the rushing attack.
Through the first two contests in 2016, NC State ranks 28th in the FBS in rushing (237.0 per game), after going over 200 yards in each of the first two games.
Dating back to the last three games of 2015, NC State has rushed for over 200 yards in five straight contests, and averaged 253.6 rushing yards per game during this span. The Pack will be looking for its sixth straight 200+ rushing performance against ODU, a feat NC State has not accomplished since the final three games in 1980 and the first three of 1981.
In the last 15 outings (two games in 2016 and 13 games in 2015), the Wolfpack has turned in nine 200+ rushing games. In the 76 games from 2009-14, NC State rushed for over 200 yards just 10 total times.
Senior Matthew Dayes, back from missing the final five and a half games in 2015, leads the charge. After back-to-back 100+ games to open the season, Dayes has now rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of his last 10 games played. He currently ranks third in the ACC and 13th in the FBS with 241 rushing yards and is averaging 6.51 yards a carry. His total of 138 yards against William & Mary was the highest rushing total for a Pack player in the season opener since 2000.
"Matt is an important member of our football team," said head coach Dave Doeren. "He prepares the right way, he pratices hard."
Sophomore back-up Reggie Gallaspy II has an even better average per rush, 9.6 yards a clip on his nine carries in 2016. That total was helped in large part to his career-long 37-yard TD at East Carolina for the Pack's first score of the game.
TE/FB Jaylen Samuels is also a threat on the ground. Over the last two years, Samuels has scored a rushing TD every 5.4 times he gets a handoff (12 TDs on 65 carries).
"We have a balanced (offensive) attack, and we will keep feeding Matt (Dayes) and Reggie (Gallaspy) the rock," said Finley. "The offensive line has done a great job these first two games, we need to keep running behind those guys."
"We continue to run the ball well, at 6.9 a carry (at East Carolina) - which was part of our 10 explosive plays on offense," said Doeren.
In the two recent wins over ODU, NC State rushed for 498 yards and eight scores on the ground.
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A forward focus will be key, as the Pack faces its third straight non-conference foe a week before an early-season bye week.
"We had some missed opportunities, we left some plays out on field," said quarterback Ryan Finley. "(ECU) was a tough loss, we look forward to moving on and getting ready for Old Dominion."
NC State and Old Dominion are familiar foes, facing off in each of the last two seasons. The Pack won in Raleigh in 2014, 46-34, and repeated the feat last year in Norfolk, 38-14.
"We played them two years in a row, so familiarity is always good," said linebacker Airius Moore.
One area of strength the Pack will continue to utilize is the rushing attack.
Through the first two contests in 2016, NC State ranks 28th in the FBS in rushing (237.0 per game), after going over 200 yards in each of the first two games.
Dating back to the last three games of 2015, NC State has rushed for over 200 yards in five straight contests, and averaged 253.6 rushing yards per game during this span. The Pack will be looking for its sixth straight 200+ rushing performance against ODU, a feat NC State has not accomplished since the final three games in 1980 and the first three of 1981.
In the last 15 outings (two games in 2016 and 13 games in 2015), the Wolfpack has turned in nine 200+ rushing games. In the 76 games from 2009-14, NC State rushed for over 200 yards just 10 total times.
Senior Matthew Dayes, back from missing the final five and a half games in 2015, leads the charge. After back-to-back 100+ games to open the season, Dayes has now rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of his last 10 games played. He currently ranks third in the ACC and 13th in the FBS with 241 rushing yards and is averaging 6.51 yards a carry. His total of 138 yards against William & Mary was the highest rushing total for a Pack player in the season opener since 2000.
"Matt is an important member of our football team," said head coach Dave Doeren. "He prepares the right way, he pratices hard."
Sophomore back-up Reggie Gallaspy II has an even better average per rush, 9.6 yards a clip on his nine carries in 2016. That total was helped in large part to his career-long 37-yard TD at East Carolina for the Pack's first score of the game.
Reggie Gallaspy runs through E. Carolina for the TD #PlayOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/vYH1osZItj
— PinPoint Sports (@SportsPinPoint) September 10, 2016
TE/FB Jaylen Samuels is also a threat on the ground. Over the last two years, Samuels has scored a rushing TD every 5.4 times he gets a handoff (12 TDs on 65 carries).
"We have a balanced (offensive) attack, and we will keep feeding Matt (Dayes) and Reggie (Gallaspy) the rock," said Finley. "The offensive line has done a great job these first two games, we need to keep running behind those guys."
"We continue to run the ball well, at 6.9 a carry (at East Carolina) - which was part of our 10 explosive plays on offense," said Doeren.
In the two recent wins over ODU, NC State rushed for 498 yards and eight scores on the ground.
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