Saturday, November 4
Raleigh, N.C.
3:30 p.m.
NC State
vs
Clemson - Homecoming
Control of the Atlantic on the Line Saturday
11/3/2017 10:00:00 AM | Football
Game Day Central | Thursday Football Notebook
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RALEIGH, N.C. - Don't tell Clemson and NC State that the College Football Playoffs begin on New Year's Day. As far as No. 20 NC State (6-2, 4-0 ACC) and No. 6 Clemson (7-1, 5-1) are concerned, their matchup Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium will be a playoff game.
With a victory on Saturday, the Pack would control its own destiny and be one win away from clinching a trip to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte in December. A Clemson win, however, would give the Tigers tiebreaker privileges with the Tigers having just one conference game remaining, against Florida State.
Kickoff for NC State's annual Homecoming game is 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ABC.
"We want to control where we go," said NC State head coach Dave Doeren. "As a football team and as a coaching staff that's something you always want to be able to do. We're into November now and we want this conversation to continue. Every game that we play brings us closer and closer to where we want to be at the end. It's a short-term focus knowing that we have to beat Clemson and to do that, we have to play much better than we did last week."
In terms of NC State's spot in the ACC standings, last Saturday's 35-14 defeat at then-No. 9 Notre Dame falls into the 'no harm, no foul' category. But the loss did reinforce a couple of issues that must be cleaned up and improved before the ball is kicked off on Saturday.
In its two losses this season, to the Irish and in the season opener against South Carolina, the Wolfpack was minus-two in turnover margin and yielded a pair of non-offensive touchdowns. In six wins this season, the Wolfpack is plus-seven on turnovers and no non-offensive TDs.
Running the football is also a must. Against the Gamecocks and Irish, the Pack averaged just above two yards per carry, while in the six wins, State averaged more than 4.9 yards per rush.
"That's the first thing we start with," Wolfpack right tackle Will Richardson said. "We start with running the ball and then we get our play-actions and screens off of those runs. To not be able to do that as well against Notre Dame hurt us, but all we can do is to keep working and when we come out against Clemson, hopefully we'll get the looks we need to run the ball."
The running game was further hampered last week in South Bend when leading rusher Nyheim Hines left the game with an ankle injury in the first quarter after only two carries and never returned. The departure ended a three-game streak of 100-yard plus games for the junior tailback. Hines wasn't the only one to spend time on the training table. Defensive tackles Justin Jones and Eurndraus Bryant and defensive end Darian Roseboro also left with injuries. Â
"They all practiced today," Doeren said on Thursday. "Justin is fine, he's 100 percent. Darian is 100 percent. Eurndraus and Nyheim are feeling good, we just haven't tackled. As long as the game doesn't change how they're feeling, they both are going to play and I know they both want to play."
NC State will need all of its weapons in place to deal with a Clemson team that is again loaded. The defending national champs remain explosive on offense with first-year starting quarterback Kelly Bryant leading the way. The balanced Tigers average 220 yards on the ground and 226 yards through the air.
On the other side of the ball, Clemson has been dominant, ranking sixth in the nation in scoring defense (13.1), fifth in total defense (282), and first in sacks (4.00 per game).
"You're not going to go on the road and beat NC State if you don't play well," said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. "It's the biggest game of the year. It just ramps up as you go through November. We also understand the picture of if you lose the game, you're probably not going to win the division."
Clemson's title hopes were nearly dashed last year before a potential game-winning field goal attempt by NC State was pushed wide right. Given a second opportunity, the Tigers prevailed in overtime, 24-17.
Now the two teams find themselves in yet another game that has championship ramifications.
"It shows you that hard work does pay off," Richardson said. "All summer, we talked about how this has to be our year. To see it going in the direction that we want it go is ultimately a great thing for us and it just motivates us that much more."
Prior to the NC State-Clemson 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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| #20 NC State (6-2, 4-0) vs. #6 Clemson (7-1, 5-1) | |
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 4 |
| Time | 3:30 p.m. |
| Location | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Stadium | Carter-Finley Stadium |
| Directions | Waze Driving Directions |
| TV | ABC |
| Streaming | ACC Network Extra |
| Radio in NC | Wolfpack Sports Network |
| National Radio | Tunein, Sirius 81, XM 81 |
| Live Stats | GoPack.com |
| Social Media | @PackFootball, PackFootball |
RALEIGH, N.C. - Don't tell Clemson and NC State that the College Football Playoffs begin on New Year's Day. As far as No. 20 NC State (6-2, 4-0 ACC) and No. 6 Clemson (7-1, 5-1) are concerned, their matchup Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium will be a playoff game.
With a victory on Saturday, the Pack would control its own destiny and be one win away from clinching a trip to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte in December. A Clemson win, however, would give the Tigers tiebreaker privileges with the Tigers having just one conference game remaining, against Florida State.
Kickoff for NC State's annual Homecoming game is 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ABC.
"We want to control where we go," said NC State head coach Dave Doeren. "As a football team and as a coaching staff that's something you always want to be able to do. We're into November now and we want this conversation to continue. Every game that we play brings us closer and closer to where we want to be at the end. It's a short-term focus knowing that we have to beat Clemson and to do that, we have to play much better than we did last week."
In terms of NC State's spot in the ACC standings, last Saturday's 35-14 defeat at then-No. 9 Notre Dame falls into the 'no harm, no foul' category. But the loss did reinforce a couple of issues that must be cleaned up and improved before the ball is kicked off on Saturday.
In its two losses this season, to the Irish and in the season opener against South Carolina, the Wolfpack was minus-two in turnover margin and yielded a pair of non-offensive touchdowns. In six wins this season, the Wolfpack is plus-seven on turnovers and no non-offensive TDs.
Running the football is also a must. Against the Gamecocks and Irish, the Pack averaged just above two yards per carry, while in the six wins, State averaged more than 4.9 yards per rush.
"That's the first thing we start with," Wolfpack right tackle Will Richardson said. "We start with running the ball and then we get our play-actions and screens off of those runs. To not be able to do that as well against Notre Dame hurt us, but all we can do is to keep working and when we come out against Clemson, hopefully we'll get the looks we need to run the ball."
The running game was further hampered last week in South Bend when leading rusher Nyheim Hines left the game with an ankle injury in the first quarter after only two carries and never returned. The departure ended a three-game streak of 100-yard plus games for the junior tailback. Hines wasn't the only one to spend time on the training table. Defensive tackles Justin Jones and Eurndraus Bryant and defensive end Darian Roseboro also left with injuries. Â
"They all practiced today," Doeren said on Thursday. "Justin is fine, he's 100 percent. Darian is 100 percent. Eurndraus and Nyheim are feeling good, we just haven't tackled. As long as the game doesn't change how they're feeling, they both are going to play and I know they both want to play."
NC State will need all of its weapons in place to deal with a Clemson team that is again loaded. The defending national champs remain explosive on offense with first-year starting quarterback Kelly Bryant leading the way. The balanced Tigers average 220 yards on the ground and 226 yards through the air.
On the other side of the ball, Clemson has been dominant, ranking sixth in the nation in scoring defense (13.1), fifth in total defense (282), and first in sacks (4.00 per game).
"You're not going to go on the road and beat NC State if you don't play well," said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. "It's the biggest game of the year. It just ramps up as you go through November. We also understand the picture of if you lose the game, you're probably not going to win the division."
Clemson's title hopes were nearly dashed last year before a potential game-winning field goal attempt by NC State was pushed wide right. Given a second opportunity, the Tigers prevailed in overtime, 24-17.
Now the two teams find themselves in yet another game that has championship ramifications.
"It shows you that hard work does pay off," Richardson said. "All summer, we talked about how this has to be our year. To see it going in the direction that we want it go is ultimately a great thing for us and it just motivates us that much more."
Prior to the NC State-Clemson 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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