NC State football report card: Wake Forest

By Ethan McDowell

NC State fell to 3-3 and failed to pick up its first Power Four win of the season Saturday afternoon. The Wolfpack’s 10-point lead slipped away in the fourth quarter, and Wake Forest won 34-30 inside Carter-Finley Stadium.

Earlier setbacks against Clemson and Tennessee were uncompetitive blowout losses against ranked teams. This game was an all-out battle for all 60 minutes as the Demon Deacons, a program that came into this contest 1-3 without a victory over an FBS team, made more plays than NC State down the stretch.

The Wolfpack forced 2 turnovers, recorded 7 tackles for loss and logged 12 quarterback hurries but also gave up 17 points over a four-drive stretch in the second half. Freshman quarterback CJ Bailey recorded career-highs in pretty much every passing statistic, but the program could not sustain any success on the ground against a team that was statistically the worst rushing defense in the ACC.

Here’s TheWolfpacker.com’s report card for NC State vs. Wake Forest. This loss does not fall on one side of the ball. It was a collective, crumbling loss that was the product of the offense, defense and special teams faltering down the stretch after showing promise early.

NC State offense grade vs. Wake Forest

Grade — C-

NC State’s rushing offense has struggled all season, averaging 3.9 yards per attempt. If the Wolfpack could not improve that against Wake Forest’s anemic defense, which gave up more than 180 yards per game on the ground going into this game, it will likely be difficult to run on any team this season.

The Demon Deacons allowed 105 rushing yards on 29 carries, an average of 3.6 per attempt. Sophomore Kendrick Raphael broke off a 20-yard touchdown in the third quarter. That was NC State’s only rush over 10 yards Saturday. Wake Forest recorded 6 tackles for loss, and the Pack’s average third down distance to gain was 6.8 yards.

Despite the rushing struggles, NC State’s passing attack put up impressive numbers, especially considering the circumstances. When Grayson McCall left the game with an injury, Bailey subbed in and threw the ball 42 times — a career high by 17 attempts. The Pack quarterbacks combined for 314 passing yards. Bailey accounted for 272 of that total after McCall started the game 3 for 5 for 42 yards.

Junior tight end Justin Joly led the Wolfpack with 4 catches for 73 yards and looks like the program’s best offensive player right now as teams continue to focus on slowing down sophomore wide receiver KC Concepcion (6 catches, 22 yards). A total of 8 NC State pass catchers caught at least 2 passes in the first half alone. NC State managed to put together 4 passing plays of 20 yards or more as well and gave up 1 sack.

Bailey’s last play of the game was a game-sealing interception, and NC State’s offense came up short in some key moments Saturday. The defense forced 2 turnovers to start the second half, and the Pack didn’t score any points off those opportunities. NC State possessed the ball for 3:33 in the fourth quarter.

The passing offense should be graded on a curve in this game given McCall’s injury, and the unit had success at times against a statistically poor defense. NC State finished the game with 419 total yards. That’s still 41 yards below Wake Forest’s average yards allowed this season.

Defense grade

Grade — C-

Wake Forest committed to the passing game for most of this contest, and the Pack defended that well. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier finished the game 16-32 with 154 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. NC State blitzed him on 75 percent of his drop-backs and recorded 3 sacks.

Eventually, the Demon Deacons figured out that the Pack could not stop running back Demond Claiborne, who racked up 136 yards on 20 carries. He averaged 6.8 yards per attempt and forced 7 missed tackles on his own. NC State gave up 6 rushes of 10 yards or more, including 4 in the third and fourth quarters. After running for 49 yards in the first half on 7 attempts, Wake Forest upped the volume and racked up 112 yards over the final 30 minutes.

Graduate cornerback Aydan White led the team in tackles with 9 and also broke up 2 passes. Wake Forest threw at him 10 times. Redshirt junior linebacker Caden Fordham recorded 4 quarterback hurries, and graduate linebacker Devon Betty paced the program with 2.5 tackles for loss.

After giving up 10 points on its first 2 drives of the game, including a drive that started at NC State’s 2-yard line, the defense buckled down and contained a Wake Forest squad that has scored at least 30 in 4 of its 5 games so far. Then, the Demon Deacons put up 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter on drives that took a combined 22 plays and ate up 10:31 of game clock. Wake Forest converted all 3 of its fourth down attempts, including 2 on the winning drive for the Pack’s ACC rival.

NC State’s defense ranks last in the conference in points allowed per game at 33.7.

Special teams grade

Grade — C+

Redshirt sophomore Kanoah Vinesett hit 3 of his 4 field goals Saturday. He converted 2 kicks from 35 yards out, 1 from 37 yards away and missed a 49-yarder. Redshirt junior Caden Noonkester averaged 39 yards on his 3 punts with a long of 54. NC State allowed a 15-yard punt return, and the Pack’s return game was once again a non-factor. Concepcion ran back 1 punt 3 yards.