Saturday, October 28
South Bend, Ind.
3:30 p.m.
NC State
at
Notre Dame
Top-15 Battle as #14 Wolfpack Heads to #9 Notre Dame
10/27/2017 8:53:00 AM | Football
Game Day Central | Thursday Football Notebook | Strength vs. Strength
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RALEIGH, N.C. - The football programs at NC State and Notre Dame don't cross paths often, but when they do, the games tend to draw a lot of attention.
Such will be the case on Saturday when the 14th ranked Wolfpack (6-1, 4-0) squares off against the 9th ranked Irish (6-1). Kickoff is set for 3:30 from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, and the game will be televised nationally on NBC.
In what will be only the third ever meeting between the two schools, NC State will be playing in South Bend for the first time in school history.
Coming off a disappointing 4-8 campaign a year ago, the Irish have recovered to put themselves on the fringes of the College Football Playoff discussion. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack will be trying to build on what has the potential to be its best season in 15 years. Ironically enough, the Pack culminated a school-best 11-win season in 2002 by knocking off Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, 28-6.
Last year, on what was the 50th anniversary of Carter-Finley Stadium, the Pack slogged its way to a 10-3 triumph in windy, rainy conditions brought on my Hurricane Mathew.
On Saturday, State will be trying to knock off its third ranked opponent of the year, something that hasn't been done since 1992.
"It's a great opportunity and it's a unique opportunity to play at Notre Dame with the historical part of the game of football and what that represents while they're in the top-10," said NC State head coach Dave Doeren. "They're playing for the same stakes as we are nationally. How often do you get a chance to do that? They have their own television network, NBC.
"To be able to play at a place like that with both teams on winning streaks, it's great for these kids, great for these coaches and great for NC State."
It's also a great opportunity for Doeren's program to take advantage of the built in national exposure provided by not only Notre Dame and NBC, but also the ramifications of a game that will likely be viewed as one of the most attractive matchups of the college football weekend.
"It's Notre Dame and they're going to get their attention," said Wolfpack tight end Cole Cook. "They have a great program, great tradition and obviously we have to respect that. We respect them as a football program and what they've done throughout history and this year. We'll try to keep the focus on ourselves and our 1-0 mentality."
Notre Dame has ripped off five straight wins since dropping a 20-19 nail biter to Georgia (now ranked #3 nationally) on September 9th. Similarly, NC State has prevailed in six consecutive games following an opening-day loss to South Carolina in Charlotte.
The attractive 'game within the game' will pit the Irish's powerful rushing attack  against NC State's stout rush defense. After piling up 377 rushing yards in last week's 49-19 thrashing of then-No. 11 USC, Notre Dame ranks sixth in the nation with an average of 318 yards per game. The Wolfpack features the ACC stingiest defense against the run, yielding just 91.3 yards per contest. That mark also ranks as sixth-best nationally.
"It's a great heavyweight battle right there," Doeren said. "They've got four senior offensive linemen and we've got four senior defensive linemen. They've got a very good tailback who leads the nation in yards per carry in Adams, and the quarterback Wimbush is their second leading rusher and is playing with confidence.
"I'm excited to just watch the line of scrimmage in this game. As a football coach, it's no secret I enjoy that part of the game. To see two great line of scrimmages that are well-coached going against each other, it's going to be a great battle within the game."
Thanks to the running of tailback Josh Adams and quarterback Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame hammered out 515 yards on the ground against Boston College on September 16th. It was in that game that Adams and Wimbush both rushed for more than 200 yards.
Part of NC State's winning formula has been an offense that doesn't turn the ball over. The Wolfpack has only three turnovers thus far, and only one over the last six games. Quarterback Ryan Finley has thrown 248 passes without an interception this year, and 313 consecutive aerials without a pick dating back to last season. On the flip side, the Irish defense has produced 17 takeaways, which has allowed coach Brian Kelly's team to outscore opponents 94-10 off turnovers.
"With Finley and [offensive coordinator Eliah] Drinkwitz, those guys have been together since Boise," Kelly said. "You can see that they're attached together and there's a direct correlation to the execution and the play-calling of that by the quarterback. The efficiency on offense is there because they've been together and you can see that play out."Â
This will mark the sixth time in school history and the first time since 1992 that NC State will be involved in a game that features two top-15 programs.
Wolfpack fans near and far have been scrambling to squeeze their way into Notre Dame's tradition-rich stadium in hopes of seeing their team go head-to-head with one of college football's most storied programs, which has only added to the hype surrounding Saturday's game.
Within the walls of the Murphy Football Center this week, however, Doeren and his staff have urged players to take the same even-keeled, focused approach that has worked wonders to this point.
"The past two weeks, coach Doeren and the coaches have been putting Kool-Aid packets on our desks in the meeting rooms, saying don't drink the Kool-Aid," said NC State tailback Nyheim Hines. "We don't need to believe the hype and just focus on ourselves."
Prior to the NC State-Notre Dame matchup, the Wolfpack Sports Network will begin pregame coverage with the Matthews Motors Pregame Show starting at 1:30 p.m. In the second hour of the pregame, network analyst Johnny Evans will answer questions from fans on 'Ask the Analyst.' Questions to Johnny can be submitted via Twitter@packradio or by clicking HERE.
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| #14 NC State (6-1) at #9 Notre Dame (6-1) | |
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 28 |
| Time | 3:30 p.m. |
| Location | South Bend, Ind. |
| Stadium | Notre Dame Stadium |
| TV | NBC |
| National Radio | Tunein, Sirius 129, XM 129 |
| Live Stats | UND.com |
| Social Media | @PackFootball, PackFootball |
RALEIGH, N.C. - The football programs at NC State and Notre Dame don't cross paths often, but when they do, the games tend to draw a lot of attention.
Such will be the case on Saturday when the 14th ranked Wolfpack (6-1, 4-0) squares off against the 9th ranked Irish (6-1). Kickoff is set for 3:30 from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, and the game will be televised nationally on NBC.
In what will be only the third ever meeting between the two schools, NC State will be playing in South Bend for the first time in school history.
Coming off a disappointing 4-8 campaign a year ago, the Irish have recovered to put themselves on the fringes of the College Football Playoff discussion. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack will be trying to build on what has the potential to be its best season in 15 years. Ironically enough, the Pack culminated a school-best 11-win season in 2002 by knocking off Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, 28-6.
Last year, on what was the 50th anniversary of Carter-Finley Stadium, the Pack slogged its way to a 10-3 triumph in windy, rainy conditions brought on my Hurricane Mathew.
On Saturday, State will be trying to knock off its third ranked opponent of the year, something that hasn't been done since 1992.
"It's a great opportunity and it's a unique opportunity to play at Notre Dame with the historical part of the game of football and what that represents while they're in the top-10," said NC State head coach Dave Doeren. "They're playing for the same stakes as we are nationally. How often do you get a chance to do that? They have their own television network, NBC.
"To be able to play at a place like that with both teams on winning streaks, it's great for these kids, great for these coaches and great for NC State."
It's also a great opportunity for Doeren's program to take advantage of the built in national exposure provided by not only Notre Dame and NBC, but also the ramifications of a game that will likely be viewed as one of the most attractive matchups of the college football weekend.
"It's Notre Dame and they're going to get their attention," said Wolfpack tight end Cole Cook. "They have a great program, great tradition and obviously we have to respect that. We respect them as a football program and what they've done throughout history and this year. We'll try to keep the focus on ourselves and our 1-0 mentality."
Notre Dame has ripped off five straight wins since dropping a 20-19 nail biter to Georgia (now ranked #3 nationally) on September 9th. Similarly, NC State has prevailed in six consecutive games following an opening-day loss to South Carolina in Charlotte.
The attractive 'game within the game' will pit the Irish's powerful rushing attack  against NC State's stout rush defense. After piling up 377 rushing yards in last week's 49-19 thrashing of then-No. 11 USC, Notre Dame ranks sixth in the nation with an average of 318 yards per game. The Wolfpack features the ACC stingiest defense against the run, yielding just 91.3 yards per contest. That mark also ranks as sixth-best nationally.
"It's a great heavyweight battle right there," Doeren said. "They've got four senior offensive linemen and we've got four senior defensive linemen. They've got a very good tailback who leads the nation in yards per carry in Adams, and the quarterback Wimbush is their second leading rusher and is playing with confidence.
"I'm excited to just watch the line of scrimmage in this game. As a football coach, it's no secret I enjoy that part of the game. To see two great line of scrimmages that are well-coached going against each other, it's going to be a great battle within the game."
Thanks to the running of tailback Josh Adams and quarterback Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame hammered out 515 yards on the ground against Boston College on September 16th. It was in that game that Adams and Wimbush both rushed for more than 200 yards.
Part of NC State's winning formula has been an offense that doesn't turn the ball over. The Wolfpack has only three turnovers thus far, and only one over the last six games. Quarterback Ryan Finley has thrown 248 passes without an interception this year, and 313 consecutive aerials without a pick dating back to last season. On the flip side, the Irish defense has produced 17 takeaways, which has allowed coach Brian Kelly's team to outscore opponents 94-10 off turnovers.
"With Finley and [offensive coordinator Eliah] Drinkwitz, those guys have been together since Boise," Kelly said. "You can see that they're attached together and there's a direct correlation to the execution and the play-calling of that by the quarterback. The efficiency on offense is there because they've been together and you can see that play out."Â
This will mark the sixth time in school history and the first time since 1992 that NC State will be involved in a game that features two top-15 programs.
Wolfpack fans near and far have been scrambling to squeeze their way into Notre Dame's tradition-rich stadium in hopes of seeing their team go head-to-head with one of college football's most storied programs, which has only added to the hype surrounding Saturday's game.
Within the walls of the Murphy Football Center this week, however, Doeren and his staff have urged players to take the same even-keeled, focused approach that has worked wonders to this point.
"The past two weeks, coach Doeren and the coaches have been putting Kool-Aid packets on our desks in the meeting rooms, saying don't drink the Kool-Aid," said NC State tailback Nyheim Hines. "We don't need to believe the hype and just focus on ourselves."
Prior to the NC State-Notre Dame matchup, the Wolfpack Sports Network will begin pregame coverage with the Matthews Motors Pregame Show starting at 1:30 p.m. In the second hour of the pregame, network analyst Johnny Evans will answer questions from fans on 'Ask the Analyst.' Questions to Johnny can be submitted via Twitter@packradio or by clicking HERE.
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Players Mentioned
Coach Doeren Weekly Press Conference (Sept. 15)
Monday, September 15
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