North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Opens ACC Road Action at Clemson
10/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 3, 2014
TV: ESPNU/ESPN3 | Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network | Live Stats
Game Notes | @PackFootball Twitter | Ask the Analyst
RALEIGH, N.C. - In NC State’s first road game of the year at South Florida back on September 13, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa was less noisy than a funeral parlor. Much will change on Saturday when the Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1 ACC) travels to Clemson (2-2, 1-1) for a 3:30 p.m. ACC match-up.
For the last few days, music was blaring on the offensive practice field as the Pack prepared for the decibel levels it will encounter in Death Valley. While it may have sounded like an ITunes music festival, the thumping rhythms being funneled through massive speakers during practice were an attempt to test the Wolfpack offense’s ability to function without actually hearing the voice of quarterback Jacoby Brissett at the line of scrimmage.
“Death Valley is obviously a hard place to play,” said NC State running back Shadrach Thornton. “We have faith in our system and in our coaches to create a good game plan to help us execute our plays and be on top of our game. We’re just ready to step-up and take the challenge. It’s our first ACC road game and it’s pretty much a must win for us.”
Clemson has won the last five games played between the two teams at Memorial Stadium, although all five have been decided by 14 points or less. Two years ago, quarterbacks Tajh Boyd and Mike Glennon authored one of the more memorable shootouts in ACC history with Clemson eventually prevailing 62-48. In 2010, the Wolfpack managed to quiet a massive Clemson crowd by building a 13-0 lead into the third quarter before the Tigers found just enough offense to pull out a 14-13 victory.
Of course, a large number of the freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on this year’s Wolfpack team will be playing in Death Valley for the very first time. Even Brissett, a redshirt junior, will be making his first visit to Clemson.
The same can be said for second-year head coach Dave Doeren.
“I’m looking forward to moving on to another great opponent at Clemson in a hostile atmosphere with great crowd noise,” Doeren said. “The crowd noise is obviously something you’ve got to manage as you get your guys ready in practice. I’ve heard nothing but great things about game day down there, so I’m excited to go play in that environment. It’s just another week for us to try to knock somebody off and see where we stand against a really good football team.”
If NC State needed validation that it was indeed a much improved football team over last year, that confirmation arrived in the form of a near upset of top-ranked Florida State last Saturday. In the first half of last week’s game at Carter-Finley Stadium, after building an early 24-7 lead, it was the Wolfpack that resembled a top-10 ranked team. In the end, however, FSU’s firepower seized the day and the Seminoles came back to win, 56-41.
“I feel like we got beat down [in the second half],” said Pack middle linebacker Jerod Fernandez. “We were out there for a lot of snaps. The first half, we played sound football with everybody making plays. In the second half we took a step back and didn’t keep our foot on the pedal.”
The NC State defense struggled to get off the field last week as Florida State converted eight of 11 third down plays. On Saturday, the Wolfpack will be facing a Clemson offense that has converted an impressive 45 percent on third down through four games. The keys to the Tigers’ attack have been turned over to true freshman Deshaun Watson, who broke or equaled 12 different school records in last week’s 50-35 romp over North Carolina. Among other things, the athletic Watson set a new Clemson mark by throwing six touchdown passes against the Tar Heels.
It’s rare for any rookie quarterback to make such a splash so early in a college football career, but his coach says Watson is no ordinary freshman.
“I’ve never been around a freshman like him,” said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. “It’s unbelievable to see a guy that is where he is at this stage of his career. It’s fun to see him get off to such a great start and he’s just going to get better.”
With Watson’s ability to run and sprint out, the NC State defense will be challenged by a moving target that can also throw the football with accuracy. The nation’s leader in pass efficiency, Watson piled up 463 yards of total offense against UNC.
“We’ve just got to come out and play football,” said Jerod Fernandez, who is the reigning ACC linebacker of the week after picking off two Jameis Winston passes last Saturday. “Clemson has a great offense and a great quarterback. We just have to play NC State football. We have to attack and we can’t wait on them. We have to go get it.”
Like Watson, the Wolfpack’s Brissett is coming off a stellar performance of his own. After passing for 359 yards and three touchdowns against Florida State, the Florida transfer leads the league in touchdown passes, while ranking second in total offense and passing yards per game. Since throwing his first and only interception of the year in the opener against Georgia Southern, Brissett has hoisted 156 consecutive passes without being intercepted.
At Clemson, he’ll likely face the fiercest pass rusher he’s encountered to date. With 27 career sacks to his credit, Tigers defensive end Vic Beasley is just one away from the school record. Beasley dropped Pack quarterbacks three times last year in Raleigh.
“We’re going to respect him as a great player,” Thornton said. “He is fast off the ball, he gets a good jump on the snap and he’s been extraordinary up to this point. We’re just going to game plan for him and go out and play.”
With Beasley leading the way, Clemson averages 9.7 tackles for loss per game this season, a figure that ranks second in the nation. On the flip side, Wolfpack running backs have been tackled behind the line of scrimmage only three times in 124 tries through five games.
The NC State offensive line’s ability to control Beasley and Clemson’s athletic front will certainly be a ‘game within the game’ to watch on Saturday.
“I’m just excited to go play them,” said Doeren. “We lost an emotional game and I know our guys will have a taste in their mouths to get back on the football field and play better than we did a week ago. To play a team as good as Clemson in their stadium is a great challenge for our football team.”
The Matthews Motors Countdown to Kickoff will open the Wolfpack Sports Network’s radio coverage on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. In hour two of the pregame show just after 2:30 p.m., color analyst and former NC State All-American Johnny Evans will field your questions about Pack football on Farm Bureau’s ‘Ask the Analyst.’ Questions to Johnny can be tweeted to @packradio or submitted by going here.
The Dave Doeren TV Show will feature a full recap of the Clemson game Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. on WRAL TV-5 in Raleigh and on WILM (CBS) in Wilmington. The show is also posted every Monday on Gopack.com. For other stations and times, go here.
Fans wishing to send questions to coach Doeren on his show can do so on Twitter by using hashtag #CoachDTV.
Game 6: NC State Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1 ACC) vs. Clemson Tigers (2-2, 1-1 ACC)
October 4, 2014 • 3:30 p.m.
Clemson, S.C. • Memorial Stadium (80,301)
TV: ESPNU/ESPN3 | Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network | Live Stats
Game Notes | @PackFootball Twitter | Ask the Analyst
RALEIGH, N.C. - In NC State’s first road game of the year at South Florida back on September 13, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa was less noisy than a funeral parlor. Much will change on Saturday when the Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1 ACC) travels to Clemson (2-2, 1-1) for a 3:30 p.m. ACC match-up.
For the last few days, music was blaring on the offensive practice field as the Pack prepared for the decibel levels it will encounter in Death Valley. While it may have sounded like an ITunes music festival, the thumping rhythms being funneled through massive speakers during practice were an attempt to test the Wolfpack offense’s ability to function without actually hearing the voice of quarterback Jacoby Brissett at the line of scrimmage.
“Death Valley is obviously a hard place to play,” said NC State running back Shadrach Thornton. “We have faith in our system and in our coaches to create a good game plan to help us execute our plays and be on top of our game. We’re just ready to step-up and take the challenge. It’s our first ACC road game and it’s pretty much a must win for us.”
Clemson has won the last five games played between the two teams at Memorial Stadium, although all five have been decided by 14 points or less. Two years ago, quarterbacks Tajh Boyd and Mike Glennon authored one of the more memorable shootouts in ACC history with Clemson eventually prevailing 62-48. In 2010, the Wolfpack managed to quiet a massive Clemson crowd by building a 13-0 lead into the third quarter before the Tigers found just enough offense to pull out a 14-13 victory.
Of course, a large number of the freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on this year’s Wolfpack team will be playing in Death Valley for the very first time. Even Brissett, a redshirt junior, will be making his first visit to Clemson.
The same can be said for second-year head coach Dave Doeren.
“I’m looking forward to moving on to another great opponent at Clemson in a hostile atmosphere with great crowd noise,” Doeren said. “The crowd noise is obviously something you’ve got to manage as you get your guys ready in practice. I’ve heard nothing but great things about game day down there, so I’m excited to go play in that environment. It’s just another week for us to try to knock somebody off and see where we stand against a really good football team.”
If NC State needed validation that it was indeed a much improved football team over last year, that confirmation arrived in the form of a near upset of top-ranked Florida State last Saturday. In the first half of last week’s game at Carter-Finley Stadium, after building an early 24-7 lead, it was the Wolfpack that resembled a top-10 ranked team. In the end, however, FSU’s firepower seized the day and the Seminoles came back to win, 56-41.
“I feel like we got beat down [in the second half],” said Pack middle linebacker Jerod Fernandez. “We were out there for a lot of snaps. The first half, we played sound football with everybody making plays. In the second half we took a step back and didn’t keep our foot on the pedal.”
The NC State defense struggled to get off the field last week as Florida State converted eight of 11 third down plays. On Saturday, the Wolfpack will be facing a Clemson offense that has converted an impressive 45 percent on third down through four games. The keys to the Tigers’ attack have been turned over to true freshman Deshaun Watson, who broke or equaled 12 different school records in last week’s 50-35 romp over North Carolina. Among other things, the athletic Watson set a new Clemson mark by throwing six touchdown passes against the Tar Heels.
It’s rare for any rookie quarterback to make such a splash so early in a college football career, but his coach says Watson is no ordinary freshman.
“I’ve never been around a freshman like him,” said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. “It’s unbelievable to see a guy that is where he is at this stage of his career. It’s fun to see him get off to such a great start and he’s just going to get better.”
With Watson’s ability to run and sprint out, the NC State defense will be challenged by a moving target that can also throw the football with accuracy. The nation’s leader in pass efficiency, Watson piled up 463 yards of total offense against UNC.
“We’ve just got to come out and play football,” said Jerod Fernandez, who is the reigning ACC linebacker of the week after picking off two Jameis Winston passes last Saturday. “Clemson has a great offense and a great quarterback. We just have to play NC State football. We have to attack and we can’t wait on them. We have to go get it.”
Like Watson, the Wolfpack’s Brissett is coming off a stellar performance of his own. After passing for 359 yards and three touchdowns against Florida State, the Florida transfer leads the league in touchdown passes, while ranking second in total offense and passing yards per game. Since throwing his first and only interception of the year in the opener against Georgia Southern, Brissett has hoisted 156 consecutive passes without being intercepted.
At Clemson, he’ll likely face the fiercest pass rusher he’s encountered to date. With 27 career sacks to his credit, Tigers defensive end Vic Beasley is just one away from the school record. Beasley dropped Pack quarterbacks three times last year in Raleigh.
“We’re going to respect him as a great player,” Thornton said. “He is fast off the ball, he gets a good jump on the snap and he’s been extraordinary up to this point. We’re just going to game plan for him and go out and play.”
With Beasley leading the way, Clemson averages 9.7 tackles for loss per game this season, a figure that ranks second in the nation. On the flip side, Wolfpack running backs have been tackled behind the line of scrimmage only three times in 124 tries through five games.
The NC State offensive line’s ability to control Beasley and Clemson’s athletic front will certainly be a ‘game within the game’ to watch on Saturday.
“I’m just excited to go play them,” said Doeren. “We lost an emotional game and I know our guys will have a taste in their mouths to get back on the football field and play better than we did a week ago. To play a team as good as Clemson in their stadium is a great challenge for our football team.”
The Matthews Motors Countdown to Kickoff will open the Wolfpack Sports Network’s radio coverage on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. In hour two of the pregame show just after 2:30 p.m., color analyst and former NC State All-American Johnny Evans will field your questions about Pack football on Farm Bureau’s ‘Ask the Analyst.’ Questions to Johnny can be tweeted to @packradio or submitted by going here.
The Dave Doeren TV Show will feature a full recap of the Clemson game Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. on WRAL TV-5 in Raleigh and on WILM (CBS) in Wilmington. The show is also posted every Monday on Gopack.com. For other stations and times, go here.
Fans wishing to send questions to coach Doeren on his show can do so on Twitter by using hashtag #CoachDTV.
Coach Doeren Signing Day Presser (Dec. 3rd)
Wednesday, December 03
FB Players Postgame Presser vs UNC
Sunday, November 30
Coach Doeren Postgame Presser vs UNC
Sunday, November 30
Coach Doeren Weekly Press Conference (Nov. 24)
Monday, November 24