Wolfpack Hosts Clemson on Homecoming

Game Day Central | Thursday Football Notebook

	NC State (4-4, 1-3) vs. #5 Clemson (9-0, 6-0)
Date	Saturday, Nov. 9
Time	7:30 p.m.
Location	Raleigh, N.C.
Stadium	Carter-Finley Stadium \| A to Z Stadium Guide
TV	ABC
Streaming	WatchESPN
Radio in NC	Wolfpack Sports Network
National Radio	Tunein, Sirius 134, XM 193
Live Stats	GoPack.com
Social Media	Twitter: @PackFootball \| Instagram: PackFootball

RALEIGH, N.C. – For NC State, this truly will be a homecoming. The Wolfpack (4-4, 1-3 ACC) will indeed be returning home for the first time in a month on Saturday night when it entertains #5 Clemson (9-0, 6-0) at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Game time is set for 7:30, and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.

The last time the Pack ran through the tunnel at Carter-Finley, the date was Thursday, October 10th. Since then, there have been two Saturdays off and a pair of road games.

NC State enters the contest a perfect 4-0 at home this season, and has won 15 of its 17 home contests over the last three seasons.

"I'm looking forward to playing a home game," said Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren. "I'm excited for Homecoming and a night game against a tremendous football team. This is what you play for: to play against such a good team, such a well-coached team. To get to do it at home in a night environment at 'the Carter,' it's been awesome to have those types of games."

Although the powerful Tigers have won seven straight in the series and 14 of the last 15, the last three meetings in Raleigh have been tight, competitive contests that weren't decided until the fourth quarter.

"This is a place that's always been a challenge," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "It's never easy to go up there. The last couple of years up there it's been a grind. Their crowd, they show up regardless of whether they're 4-4 or 8-0. It's a tough environment to go play in."

The defending national champs usually respond to difficult road games and challenging environments. Clemson is currently riding a 24-game winning streak, the second longest streak of success in ACC history and the longest active streak in the country. Florida State won 29 in a row between 2012-14.

"They're really good," Doeren said. "They're experienced, they've got great players, they've got staff continuity and all of those things. But I also know that anything can happen on a Saturday and that's why you put the football down and play. We've got nothing to lose in this football game. We need to go play as hard as we can, be better than we were the week before and finish plays better than the week before. Anything can happen. That's got to be our mindset."

Due to an ongoing rash of injuries, NC State has started 40 different players this season. Three of the four captains selected before the season have missed a combined 15 games. The end result has been a young team getting younger as the fall has progressed.

In last week's loss at Wake Forest, the Pack's leading tackler was redshirt freshman linebacker Payton Wilson. It's top rusher with 48 yards was a true freshman in Jordan Houston. Both will likely be asked to play major roles on Saturday night.

"I think about it sometimes that I was in high school just a few months ago and now I'm getting ready to play one of the best teams in the country," Houston said. "I think it's a great opportunity for me and my team."

Quoting the legendary film Casablanca, 'the usual suspects' are powering Clemson again this season. Big-play tailback Travis Etienne is putting up 122 rushing yards per game, while averaging 9.0 yards per carry. After uncharacteristically throwing eight interceptions over the first half of the season, quarterback Trevor Lawrence hasn't been picked off in seven straight quarters. The strong-armed sophomore is completing 66 percent of his throws with 20 touchdowns.

The defense leads the league in scoring defense (11.7), total defense (247), pass defense (134), and interceptions (11). Veteran coordinator Brent Venables is also famous for calling a high volume of pressures that come from all angles.

"They bring every blitz you can think of," said NC State guard Joe Sculthorpe. "You just need to stick to your traditional rules and stay true to your coaching and just play fast and not try to outthink too much. Once you start thinking too much you start playing slow. We try to prepare for it, but you can't draw up every play to fit every blitz perfectly, so you've just got to play fast, put your pads low and try to win every block."

Both teams have a lot at stake on Saturday. With four games remaining, NC State needs a minimum of two wins to become bowl-eligible for the sixth straight year. The Tigers are ranked fifth in the first round of the college football playoff rankings, so an unbeaten season may be required to get them back in the four-team playoffs. Of course, a shakeup could occur this weekend when #2 LSU squares off against #3 Alabama.

NC State has beaten Clemson teams ranked in the top-10 three times, in 1987, 1988 and 2011.

Wolfpack Sports Network coverage of Saturday's game begins with the Lowe's Foods Countdown to Kickoff from the Fan Zone at 5:30. Shortly after 6:30 p.m., veteran color analyst Johnny Evans will field questions from fans about Pack football on 'Ask the Analyst.' Questions can be submitted to Johnny on Twitter @packradio or by email HERE.

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Houston

Joe Sculthorpe

Payton Wilson