Thursday Football Notebook

9/8/2016 8:16:00 AM | Football

Game Day Central | Game Notes
Defense Starts Season Strong, More to Prove Saturday

Game 2: NC State Wolfpack (1-0) at East Carolina Pirates (1-0)
September 10, 2016 • 12 p.m. • ESPNU/WatchESPN
Greenville, N.C. • Dowdy Ficklen Stadium (50,000)

NC STATE VERSUS EAST CAROLINA
In week 2, the Wolfpack will travel 83 miles to Greenville to take on the Pirates of the American Athletic Conference. Although NC State and East Carolina have played 28 times dating back to 1970, this marks only the fourth time the game has been played on the Pirates' home field. NC State is 1-2 at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium.

NC State won 11 of the first 15 meetings between the two schools (all of which were played at Carter-Finley Stadium). The two teams met every season from 1970-1987, but since then have played just 10 times, with three of those contests being played at neutral sites. In 1992, the Pack met the Pirates in the Peach Bowl, losing 37-34. In 1996 and 2004, the two teams played regular-season contests in Charlotte, with ECU winning 50-29 in '96 and the Pack gaining a 52-14 victory in 2004.

A PIRATE AMONG US
Wolfpack first-year offensive line coach/run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford should be right at home when the Wolfpack heads to Dowdy Ficklen Stadium on Saturday. Ledford played college ball for the Pirates from 1995-98, seeing action on the defensive line for his first three years, then moving to the offensive line as a senior - where he started at left tackle in nine games.

Ledford, who went on to play in the NFL from 1999-2006, also worked as a graduate assistant on the ECU staff in 2008.

This will not be the first time Ledford has stood on the opponent's sideline in Greenville either. In 2012, his first game as an assistant coach at Appalachian State was a trip to ECU.

Defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable also spent some time as a Pirate. He served as the linebackers and special teams coach from 1990-91 and then came back to coach LBs in 1998 and the d-line in 1999.

HOMECOMING
Junior defensive end Kentavius Street will be playing in his own backyard when the Pack invades Dowdy Ficklen Stadium. Street spent his junior and senior year at Greenville's Rose High School - just seven miles from the stadium, while the house he lived in with his mother and two sisters is even closer.

Street was a five-star recruit coming out of Rose, rated the No. 2 player in North Carolina.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With the win over William & Mary, NC State head coach Dave Doeren improved to 13-1 against non-Power 5 opponents while head coach of the Wolfpack (the only loss was to ECU in 2013).

Doeren, whose 2015 squad boasted the second-highest road win total in school history with four, is 3-0 in non-conference road games at NC State, and his Wolfpack squad have outscored those opponents 150-44.

FINLEY IS FINE IN DEBUT
Ryan Finley won the tight battle for the Wolfpack's starting quarterback spot and was practically flawless in his first game as the Wolfpack's starter. (Finley started three games at Boise State in 2015).

The redshirt sophomore completed 17 of 21 pass attempts for an .809 mark - 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 3-3). His two touchdown throws tied with Erik Kramer as the second-highest tally in the past 45 years (Jacoby Brissett and Philip Rivers each threw for three scores in their first game as State's starter).

DEFENSE DOMINATES
Although the offense gained most of the headlines with its 521 yard performance in the opener, the defense was just as solid. After William & Mary drove 75 yards on a touchdown drive on its first possession of the game, the Wolfpack defense shut them down. In the remaining 54:38 of the game, the Tribe gained just 93 total yards.

NC State picked off two W&M passes (Jerod Fernandez and Josh Jones) and tallied six tackles for loss.

SUNNY DAYES AHEAD
If there was any question as to how senior running back Matthew Dayes would handle playing his first game in 306 days, it was quickly answered in the season opener. Dayes ran for 138 yards and hit paydirt twice - his sixth 100-yard rushing game in his last 8-1/2 outings (he was injured in the first half of game 8 last season).

It was the most rushing yards in a season opener in 16 years for a Wolfpack player (Ray Robinson, 139 vs. Arkansas St. in 2000).

With 1,828 career yards, Dayes now ranks 14th in Wolfpack history. His 5.66 yards per carrry is the top mark in school history (he averaged 6 yards per run in the opener) and his 26 rushing touchdowns is the fifth-best mark ever for a Pack runner. In terms of overall scoring, he is tied for fifth in school history as well with 32 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).

DANGEROUS D-LINE
The strongest unit on the field for the Wolfpack, in terms of depth and talent, could be the defensive line. All four starters on the line have started multiple games while all four backups are also experienced (even redshirt freshman James Smith-Williams played in four games last season before an injury).

That unit, which lost just one player (DE Mike Rose) might not have gotten the credit it deserved last season. Against FBS teams in 2015, NC State ranked third in the ACC in pressuring the opposing QB without blitzing, trailing only Boston College and Clemson - the No. 1 and No. 10 ranked teams in the FBS last season in total defense. The line made contact with the opposing quarterback on 22 percent of its non-blitz rushes, eighth-best in the Power 5. Of FBS teams, only BC and Clemson had a higher percentage of rushing attempts stopped for a loss or no gain (stats courtesy of ESPN).

This year, the line used the offseason to get stronger and faster. Here's a look at the changes in bodyweight, bench press and squat totals between 2015 and 2016:

Name	Bodyweight	Change	Bench	Change	Squat	Change
Eurndraus Bryant	323	-30 lbs	405	+45 lbs	605	+125 lbs
Bradley Chubb	280	+25 lbs	390	+25 lbs	535	+80 lbs
B.J. Hill	313	+13 lbs	455	+40 lbs	510	+55 lbs
Quentez Johnson	305	-35 lbs	315	+55 lbs	520	+190 lbs
Justin Jones	313	+20 lbs	455	+70 lbs	600	+85 lbs
Monty Nelson	315	+13 lbs	460	+35 lbs	485	+110 lbs
Darian Roseboro	274	-9 lbs	375	+10 lbs	450	+55 lbs
James Smith-Williams	242	+20 lbs	360	+45 lbs	536	+100 lbs
Kentavius Street	273	-13 lbs	455	+20 lbs	635	+35 lbs

FIRST TIME ACTION
A baker's dozen (13) players saw action for the first time in a Wolfpack uniform in the season opener, including 10 who played in a collegiate game for the first time and four true freshmen.

Three graduate transfers - QB Ryan Finley, PK Connor Haskins, C Joe Scelfo - played for the first time at NC State. Six redshirt freshmen saw their first collegiate action: WR Jakobi Meyers, RB Johnny Frasier, OT Emanuel McGirt, Jr., SS Jarius Morehead, WR Vernon Grier, DE Tyrone Riley.

Four true freshmen played in the opener, including three who saw action from scrimmage. WR Kelvin Harmon was in for 38 snaps, CB Nick McCloud played six snaps and TE/FB Thaddeus Moss played 32 snaps. Trae Meadows played on special teams.

PERMANENT CAPTAINS
For the first time during Dave Doeren's tenure as head coach, the Wolfpack elected permanent captains for the 2016 captain. Each member of the team's Leadership Council (which is also elected by the team) was eligible for the honor.

The team selected two seniors - RB Matthew Dayes and CB Jack Tocho - and two juniors - TE Cole Cook and DE Bradley Chubb. Each week, the LC will help select a fifth captain based on performance in practice or in games.