Pack Returns Home to Face Old Dominion

Game Day Central | Game Day Reminders | Where to Watch
Thursday Football Notebook | Pack Looking to Get Back in Win Column

Game 3: NC State Wolfpack (1-1) vs. Old Dominion Monarchs (1-1)
September 17, 2016 • 6 p.m. • ACC Network Extra
Raleigh, N.C. • Carter-Finley Stadium (58,200)

TV: ACC Network Extra | Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network, Tunein, Sirius 93, XM 204
Live Stats | Game Notes | @PackFootball Twitter | Ask the Analyst

RALEIGH, N.C. - Another Hall of Fame weekend has arrived at NC State, offering the athletics department an opportunity to honor many of its greatest athletes. On the football field, the Wolfpack hopes to put together a winning performance worthy of a hall of fame celebration.

The Wolfpack (1-1) hosts Old Dominion (1-1) on Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium. It will be the third meeting in a many years for the two schools. NC State prevailed in the previous two games, including a lopsided 38-14 triumph over the Monarchs last year in Norfolk.

The Wolfpack will no doubt be eager to relieve itself of the frustrations that were accompanied by last weekend's 33-30 defeat at East Carolina, a loss that was made more disappointing by numerous missed opportunities in the scoring zone. By head coach Dave Doeren's count, the Pack could have easily scored 28 additional points in a close game that went down to the final drive in the fourth quarter.

"There are a lot of plays in any one-possession game that you can look back on," Doeren said. "I know our players and coaches didn't enjoy watching the film. We know we could have played and coached better. We watched it, we made corrections, and we're going to turn everything we have to ODU. I'm not going to dwell on the past. I've got 10 games in front of me and I'm going to do everything I can to help our players and coaches learn from it, focus and have a 1-0 mentality so we can make up for it as the season goes on."

For any football team, learning from the past is productive while dwelling on it is not. That message was on full display this week as the Wolfpack turned its attention to the next game.

"We have to," said quarterback Ryan Finley. "It's a long season and we have a lot of football left. All of our goals are still intact and we've got to try to be 1-0 every week."

In his first two games, Finley has certainly been one of many bright spots. The graduate transfer from Boise State has proven to be a smooth operator, demonstrating poise and composure, even in what was a very hostile environment in Greenville.

Finley's 71.2 completion percentage ranks first in the ACC and 17th in the FBS. He's been backed by a rushing attack that is averaging 237 yards per game. Dating back to last season, NC State has now rushed for 200 yards or better in five consecutive games.

"We have a balanced attack," Finley said. "Obviously with Matthew [Dayes] and Reggie Gallaspy II, we're going to keep feeding them the rock. The offensive line has done a great job these first two games and we've got to keep building on that."

Dayes has shown no ill effects from a foot injury that sidelined him the last five games of 2015. The senior from Weston, Fla., has reached the 100-yard threshold in seven of his last 10 games, including twice to start this season. Dayes tallied 108 yards on 20 carries against the Old Dominion defense 12 months ago.

Although a few execution miscues proved costly at key moments last weekend, Doeren likes what he's seen from an offense being managed by first-year coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz.

"We continue to run the ball well, we had 10 explosive plays, our quarterback was almost at a 70 percent completion rate and took care of the ball," said Doeren. "Defensively, we had 13 tackles for loss and two takeaways."

The Wolfpack defense did the job on first down a week ago, holding ECU to an average of just three yards on 31 first down plays, including nine negative plays. The biggest difficulty was getting off the field on what players and coaches refer to as the 'money downs.' The Pirates were a combined 10-of-20 on third and fourth down, including some key third down conversions on their game-winning drive.

"We've just got to execute better," said linebacker Airius Moore, who recorded 4.5 TFL's versus ECU. "We played really well on first down, but we've got to execute better when we get them into a lot of second and longs so we can get off the field and keep them behind the chains."

Moore and the rest of the Wolfpack defense will be focused on keeping Old Dominion tailback Ray Lawry in check this week. The dangerous junior is coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing games and owns 13 for his career. Lawry, who is on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, was held to just 15 yards rushing against NC State last year, although he did turn a screen pass into a 70-yard touchdown.

Along with Lawry, ODU features David Washington, a quarterback from Raleigh who is as likely to run as he is to throw out of a spread offense.

In a 31-7 loss at Appalachian State last week, ODU couldn't dig out of an early hole after falling behind 17-0 in the opening quarter. After joining the FBS ranks in 2014, the Monarchs made a splash by going 6-6, a record that included a 4-4 mark in Conference USA.

"They're an explosive offense with a very good tailback," Doeren said. "For us, it's about executing at a high-level and not beating ourselves, which is for me the most paramount thing in our program."

With a 6 p.m. kickoff, the Wolfpack Sports Network begins its pregame coverage at 4 p.m. with the Matthews Motors Countdown to Kickoff. In hour two of the pregame show from the radio booth, former Wolfpack All-American Johnny Evans takes question from fans on 'Ask the Analyst.' Questions about Pack football can be sent to Johnny via Twitter@packradio or by clicking HERE.

A complete recap of the NC State-East Carolina game will be available Sunday on the Dave Doeren TV Show. Check HERE for times and stations.

Players Mentioned

Ryan Finley

Reggie Gallaspy, Jr.

Airius Moore

North Carolina State University Athletics