Behind the Numbers: NC State’s offense shows growth despite turnovers vs. Syracuse

After NC State struggled to move the ball against Wake Forest with five drives that lasted four plays or less last week’s 4-point loss, the Wolfpack’s offense came to life against Syracuse. The only issue in the 24-17 loss to the Orange was three turnovers, all inside the Syracuse 30-yard line killed the Pack’s ability to put points on the board. And in the end, that was the difference in the one-score loss. “Obviously a game we lost because of three turnovers going in to score,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said afterwards. “All three different, but all three costly. You’d hope that you’d at least get 9 points on the three trips, but come up with zero on all three trips and lose by one score, that dictates the outcome of the game.” But despite NC State’s inability to take care of the football deep inside Syracuse territory, the Wolfpack’s sustained drives showed an improvement in the unit’s ability to execute. Here’s a deeper look at NC State’s offense against Syracuse, what might have been the Pack's best offensive showing with freshman quarterback CJ Bailey at the helm.