NC State Looks to Take Away Furman's Option(s)

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	NC State (1-1) vs. Furman (0-2)
Date	Saturday, Sept. 16
Time	12:20 p.m.
Location	Raleigh, N.C.
Stadium	Carter-Finley Stadium
Directions	Waze Driving Directions
TV	ACC Network
Streaming	ACC Network Extra
Radio in NC	Wolfpack Sports Network
National Radio	Tunein, Sirius 108, XM 201
Live Stats	GoPack.com
Social Media	@PackFootball, PackFootball

RALEIGH, N.C. – Even though Georgia Tech does not appear on NC State's 2017 schedule, that doesn't mean the Wolfpack (1-1) will avoid the tricky challenges that come with facing a triple option offense. Furman (0-2), under first-year head coach Clay Hendrix, will employ its version of the triple option when it visits Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Kickoff is set for 12:20 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC Network.

When asked to offer a list of skills required to defend the option affectively, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren had plenty to talk about.

"Discipline, eye-control, and being able to beat blocks in spaces where they can cut you," said the fifth-year head coach of the Pack. "They're going to have a lot of plays where the quarterback is a runner and you're not going to have unblocked players all the time. You're going to have to beat blocks to get people to the football."

Each and every week will offer a different challenge for the Wolfpack football team, but this one may be the most unique. Before he took over at Furman in the offseason, Hendrix, a 1985 Furman graduate, was the offensive line coach at Air Force, a program known for its deceptive triple option attack.

With the 'zone read' becoming more and more popular in college football, many teams feature some option concepts in their offenses, but very few run a pure version of the triple option. Under Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech has flummoxed many teams in the ACC and beyond with its triple option schemes. Since Doeren arrived in Raleigh, NC State has faced the Yellow Jackets just once (2014), so even the most experienced players on the Wolfpack defense have had very little exposure to that style of play.

"Furman isn't exactly like Georgia Tech, but there are some similarities," Doeren said. "We've only had to play it one time since I've been here when we had to play Georgia Tech. We played it several times at Wisconsin and I know Coach Huxtable (defensive coordinator) has played it several times as well. It's a unique preparation defensively. Each one of these teams is a little different."

Furman was very different before Hendrix arrived on the scene, meaning the Paladins weren't running the option when this game was scheduled some years back. So far, the results have been mixed, not surprising given the fact that Furman's returning offensive players are being introduced a new staff that has installed a new and very different offense.

After dropping their opener to Wofford 24-23, the Paladins came up short against Elon a week ago, 34-31. Through two games, Furman is averaging 208 rushing yards and 181 yards through the air. Typical of option teams, the Paladins have nearly three times as many rushes (93) as pass attempts (37). Running back Darius Morehead has averaged 69 yards on the ground in two games. The second leading rusher is quarterback P.J. Blazejowski.

Due to a rash of injuries, Doeren and his staff have been forced to do a lot of juggling in the secondary. Safety Dexter Wright, nickel Freddie Phillips Jr., and cornerback James Valdez have already been lost to injuries for this week's game. While Wright, who started the opener is expected back soon, Phillips (Achilles) and Valdez (knee) will be out for the rest of the season. After missing the first two games, three-year senior starting cornerback Mike Stevens is available if needed on Saturday.

"The type of offense they're playing, I'm not going to play him unless we get in a situation where they're just airing it out," said Doeren. "For Mike, we don't want to bring him back too early. He's 100 percent right now, but the biggest thing is when you go through an injury is making sure that from a coaching standpoint that we bring him back when we're completely confident. He'll go through warm-ups and he'll be ready. If we need him on third down or in two-minute situations or we have a lead and it turns into a passing day, then Mike would be ready to play."

The Wolfpack would certainly love to take the Paladins out of their comfort zone and force them to 'air it out.' A remedy for such a scenario would be a quick start, something the Pack has concentrated on this week after being outscored 24-17 in the first quarter of the opening two games.

"Coach Doeren has been preaching to us that we have to start fast because these past couple of games we haven't started very fast," said NC State H-back Jaylen Samuels. "We've been finishing well, but we haven't started fast. Our focus this week is getting ahead of them early. They're a triple option team, so it would be hard for a triple option team to come back from a deficit."

With 20 catches in the first two games, Samuels has moved up to 4th on NC State's career list for receptions. He needs just two more catches to move into third place. Quarterback Ryan Finley has been rolling, completing 74 percent of his throws for 756 yards and five touchdowns. Dating back to last season, Finley has thrown 165 consecutive passes without an interception, the second longest streak in the nation.

Prior to the NC State-Furman matchup, the Wolfpack Sports Network will begin pregame coverage with the Matthews Motors Pregame Show starting at 10 a.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

Ryan Finley

Jaylen Samuels

Mike Stevens

Markel Valdez

Dexter Wright

North Carolina State University Athletics