Five Questions w/ Matt Carter of TheWolfpacker

1. Dave Doeren is 58-47 in 8+ seasons as the HC at NC State. The Wolfpack have had a couple of 9-win seasons under Doeren, but after the win over Clemson last week is it fair to say that this is his best team? It has the chance to be. The 2017 team was really good. It played a challenging schedule and had a couple of losses to good teams that NC State still should have beaten - South Carolina in Charlotte and Wake Forest on the road. South Carolina was a borderline top-25 team itself that year, but NC State outgained them 2-to-1 in total yards and still found a way to lose by a touchdown. Wake Forest would beat Texas A&M in a bowl game in Charlotte, but NC State fumbled at the goal line going in for what probably would have been the game-winning score in the final minute.

The other two losses were a close setback to playoff-bound Clemson and a more lopsided loss to top-10 Notre Dame on the road.That team had a ton of NFL talent, with six guys who have started at one point this year in the NFL on the roster, plus another who is top 10 in the NFL in sacks and another who just signed a multi-year contract extension to make him the highest paid reserve running back in the league. The quarterback, Ryan Finley, is no longer in the NFL but started a few games for the Cincinnati Bengals.This team though has a chance to be as good as that group. I’m not sure the top-level talent is as high, but it’s much deeper and more balanced. The 2017 team was hurt, for instance, by a subpar secondary. This team does not have as many glaring weaknesses as 2017 did.

2. Devin Leary is off to a great start completing 69% of his throws to go along with 10 TDs and 2 INTs. What has allowed for Leary to progress into becoming one of the better quarterbacks in the ACC? He’s always had strong arm talent. I think where he has progressed the most is learning to manage the game and be a facilitator of the offense rather than trying to be a gunslinger. He has become more reliable in taking care of the football, not throwing nearly as many risky passes or having ball security issues.

Leary also seems much more comfortable in the offense. This is the third coordinator he’s had but the first for more than one year.

3. Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person Jr provide a solid 1-2 punch at RB, but outside of those two who are a couple of names to watch at WR for the Wolfpack? Emeka Emezie took advantage of the super senior year and is back for a fifth season and has a chance to leave as NC State’s all-time leading receiver. He’s a big, sure-handed receiver with enough athleticism to keep you honest. I’m not sure if he will get drafted next year but he has a chance to, at a minimum, receive a training camp invite. Emezie had a big game against Clemson.

Thayer Thomas is a good slot receiver/punt returner. Devin Carter is probably the most physically gifted receiver of the starters but also the most inconsistent. He did come through with the big touchdown reception in the second overtime against Clemson, his second receiving score of the game.

They really like second-year freshman Porter Rooks a lot and have been trying to get him more involved, so I would consider him an X-factor.

4. Defensively, NC State is allowing only 13 points and 249.5 yards per game. Skip Holtz mentioned the play of the LBs in his press conference on Tuesday, what makes this 3-4 scheme so difficult for opposing offenses? Technically, it’s a 3-3-5, and it’s led by the linebackers. They took a heavy blow when the best linebacker, Payton Wilson, hurt his shoulder in the second quarter against Mississippi State and was lost for the season. Wilson was an ACC Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and up to the point Wilson was hurt the Bulldogs had not scored and only had one drive that was not a three-and-out.

That said, redshirt junior Isaiah Moore is a likely NFL Draft pick. He’s a good athlete who doubles as a coach on the field. And the other linebacker, sophomore Drake Thomas (Thayer’s brother), was a legit target of Clemson coming out of high school and may be NC State’s best performing defender thus far this year. It’s an athletic group of linebackers, and Wilson’s replacement Jaylon Scott has done well so far. The defensive line holds its gaps well and lets the linebackers make plays.

5. What are your keys to the game Saturday for NC State? I think the biggest key is come out ready to play. Louisiana Tech is far too good to sleepwalk after the big Clemson win. So NC State needs to be motivated to come prepared. The defensive coaches at NC State have been preaching this is the best offense they will have played this year, and there has been a lot of talk about avoiding a letdown. Doeren said the goal was not to just beat Clemson this year. They think they can have a special season.

However, talk is one thing, backing that up is another. The only way to know if they can avoid a letdown is to see them flying around early and trying to take it to Louisiana Tech.

I think there is an opportunity for NC State to move the ball on Louisiana Tech rather consistently if it does not turn it over. That was an issue against Mississippi State (three turnovers).

The last big key for me is to avoid allowing explosive plays for touchdowns, like giving up a kickoff return for a score as it did at Mississippi State.

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