NC State football report card: Clemson

By Ethan McDowell

NC State failed to keep things competitive for the second time in three weeks Saturday afternoon. Clemson blew the Wolfpack off the field from its first drive — a 4-play, 75-yard blitzing that jumpstarted a series of four consecutive scoring drives for the Tigers.

After giving up 45 points in a half, the most conceded by a Dave Doeren-led team in his 12 seasons with NC State, all the program could do was keep fighting as the reserves took the field and the two squads played an already decided game in front of a mostly empty stadium.

The Wolfpack dropped to 2-2 on the year, and those losses were not pretty. NC State’s wins this year have come against Western Carolina and Louisiana Tech. Against Power Four competition, the program has really struggled so far.

Clemson sat starting quarterback Cade Klubnik in the third quarter and played its backups from there. The final score and overall numbers from this game look better for the Pack as a result. This week’s report card focuses mostly on what we saw over the first 30 minutes.

NC State offense grade

Grade: C-

CJ Bailey looked like the future of NC State’s program Saturday despite the blowout loss. The Death Valley environment did not bother him. He started this game 10-of-11 passing, tossing his first career touchdown to Jordan Waters in the second quarter. Bailey connected on 6 throws of 10 yards or more during that stretch. The true freshman finished the day 16-of-25 for 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 204 yards passing.

NC State continued to try and establish the run in this game despite early momentum in the passing game, and the results looked similar to the Tennessee blowout. On 11 first-quarter rushing attempts, the Pack gained 4 yards. The program averaged 0.4 yards per carry on the ground, while Bailey racked up 90 passing yards in those 15 minutes of game action.

Turnovers on back-to-back drives — fumbles by the quarterback and receiver KC Concepcion in Wolfpack territory — helped Clemson put this contest out of reach early. NC State finished the day minus-3 in the turnover battle, leading to 20 total Tiger points.

Concepcion led the team in targets with 10, resulting in 5 receptions for 40 yards and a score. His longest play was 13 yards, and NC State did not find a way to get him the ball downfield after struggling with that the past 2 weeks. Tight end Justin Joly was the program’s most consistent downfield passing threat. The junior caught 3 of 5 targets for 72 yards.

Sophomore Kendrick Raphael led the team in rushing, racking up 94 yards on 10 carries, mostly in the second half.

After the Clemson reserves entered the game, redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers rushed for his first Wolfpack touchdown, and redshirt freshman quarterback Lex Thomas connected with freshman receiver Terrell Anderson for the first touchdown of their respective collegiate careers to help the score look a bit more palatable.

When the Tigers’ starters were in the game, they controlled the line of scrimmage, forced turnovers and pressured the quarterback. Bailey extended plays well and made some nice throws, signaling promise for the future that overshadowed his freshman mistakes. But for now, the present state of this offense remains pretty ugly.

Defense grade

Grade: F

NC State missed 10 tackles against Clemson, the same number of miscues as the Tennessee game. The Pack did not wrap up the Tigers, could not keep them off schedule and allowed 408 yards in the first half. This unit gave up more than 50 points for the second time this fall.

Clemson found the end zone on its first four drives. None of those possessions took more than 2:05 of game time. When NC State faced a sudden change opportunity following the two first-quarter turnovers that put the defense in a bad spot, Clemson scored on a 1-play drive and a 5-play possession. Doeren said after the game that the Tigers were not showing too much in the rushing game that the program had not already seen.

Despite that, the team struggled to shed blocks, could not cover consistently and failed to force a turnover. NC State’s pass rush and overall disruption continued to struggle. The Pack finished this contest with 4 tackles for loss and 1 sack.

Klubnik, who struggled against NC State last year, completed 16 of 24 passes for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns, adding 5 rushes for 70 yards and another score on the ground. The Tigers averaged 13.4 yards per rush in the first half. Standout running back Phil Mafah carried the ball 7 times and racked up 107 yards.

NC State gave up 14 total explosive plays, including 8 rushes of 10 yards or more and 6 passes of 15 yards or more. The Tigers did not have a drive that lasted longer than 5 minutes but still managed to score 59 points.

Special teams grade

Grade: B

Kickoff specialist Collin Smith has not allowed a return yet this season. Jalen Coit ran back 2 punts for an average of 14 yards. After a perfect start to the season, Kanoah Vinesett missed his only attempt of the Clemson game — a 48-yard kick where a high snap appeared to throw off the timing. Caden Noonkester punted 4 times for an average of 41 yards, pinning 2 inside the 20 and giving up 1 return for 21 yards.