Wolfpack Closes Out Regular Season Hosting East Carolina

READ: NC State Teaming Up with Operation Toy Storm & Toys for Tots
NOTE: There is a PNC Arena event later Saturday, with their controlled parking lots open at 5 PM which will affect the Arena lots.

	NC State (8-3) vs. East Carolina (3-8)
Date	Saturday, Dec. 1
Time	12:00 p.m.
Location	Raleigh, N.C.
Stadium	Carter-Finley-Stadium (57,600)
Streaming	ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN
Radio in NC	Wolfpack Sports Network
National Radio	Tunein, Sirius 134, XM 387
Live Stats	GoPack.com
Social Media	@PackFootball, PackFootball

RALEIGH, N.C. - You don't get a redo too often in life.

In what was originally scheduled to be the final home game of the 2018 campaign, NC State's Senior Day was celebrated in the last home game at Carter-Finley, Thurs., Nov. 8 against Wake Forest. But the 19 Wolfpack seniors that were honored pregame left the field with a loss on their home turf for the first time this season that day.

Now with a game that was added to the schedule during the season after the cancellation of the West Virginia contest, NC State's senior class will get one last chance to walk out of Carter-Finley Stadium with a win as the Wolfpack hosts East Carolina on Saturday.

The game will kick off at noon, and be streamed by ACC Network Extra.

"It's our last game in Carter-Finley Stadium for our senior class," said NC State head coach Dave Doeren. "With what they've done to help our program, they deserve (a great turnout).

"They've won more ACC games in the last two years than any team in our conference but Clemson. They've done a really good job helping us build this program. I would love to see an incredible (amount of) fan support – a bunch of people out there cheering their butts off for a bunch of guys that played their butts off for you."

Sitting at eight wins thus far, NC State can accomplish its second straight nine-win season. It would mark a feat accomplished for the first time since the 1991 and 1992 season, and only for the third time in school history overall.

"Winning nine games at NC State is not something that's done all the time," said Doeren. "Having back-to-back nine-win teams, and maybe 10 if we can win out—there's a lot to that for the history of this program. I wanted those kids to have every opportunity to reach those goals.

"The last two seasons have been very productive here. We've accomplished a lot and we want to accomplish a lot more. We're not satisfied, but we like the results that we're getting. We always want to improve upon where you're at."

East Carolina sits at 3-8 on the season, and finished 1-7 in American Athletic Conference action this season. On Thursday, head coach Scottie Montgomery was relieved of hi coaching duties, and defensive coordinator David Blackwell will serve as interim head coach.

ECU is led by the AAC Defensive Player of the Year Nate Harvey. He leads the nation in total TFLs (24.0), while ranking in the Top 5 nationally in sacks per game (second/1.23). NC State's starting two offensive tackles, Tyler Jones and Justin Witt, will each have to sit out a half against
ECU due to the post-game altercation at North Carolina last week.

"Defensively, they play hard," said Doeren. "(Harvey) is a force. He has 24 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks, which is really, really impressive on the edge of their defense. They've had 97 tackles for loss and 33 sacks this season. They've made a lot of plays in people's backfields."

In addition to Harvey, WR Trevon Brown (71 catches for 1,075 yards and nine TDs) and PK Jake Verity (18 of 20 MFGs) were also named first-team all-conference.

The status of ECU starting QB Holton Ahlers is up I the air. Reports had him not practicing on Wednesday after he left last weekend's game with an injury in the third quarter. The true freshman QB has started the last five games for the Pirates If Ahlers can not go, So. Reid Herring appears to be the next-man-up, as he started the first six games, including the 41-19 home win against North Carolina back in Week 2.

"For us, it's about finishing, finishing for our seniors, and playing better than we did a week ago," said Doeren. "All week practice (has been) the same as it's been. We're just trying to help these guys get healthy and focusing on their fundamentals and techniques so that they can play fast and physical on Saturday."

The Wolfpack has won its last 12 home games against non-conference foes at home, with the last loss coming on Nov. 23, 2013, when Doeren's first squad fell to East Carolina.

The Wolfpack Sports Network begins pregame coverage Saturday with the Lowe's Foods Countdown to Kickoff at 10:00 a.m. Shorty after 11:00 a.m., veteran color analyst Johnny Evans will take questions about Wolfpack football on 'Ask the Analyst.' Send Johnny a question on Twitter@pack radio or by clicking HERE.

NC State's weekly TV show, 'One with Wolfpack Football,' will air on Sunday night. For a list of times and stations, clicking HERE.

Wolfpack Closes Out Regular Season Hosting East Carolina

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Jones

Justin Witt