NC State football report card: Western Carolina

By Ethan McDowell

NC State football kept things interesting for a little over three quarters of Thursday night’s showdown with Western Carolina. The Wolfpack went into the game favored by more that 30 points and won by 17 — a 38-21 contest decided in the fourth quarter. 

Going into the final 15 minutes, the hosts trailed by 4 at Carter-Finley Stadium, struggling to stop Western Carolina quarterback Cole Gonzales and giving up a trio of scores to one of the FCS’s top offenses from a year ago. NC State locked in during the fourth quarter, made some key stops and ripped off a few explosive runs late in the game to pull away from the Catamounts. 

The Pack heads into Tennessee week 1-0 with a couple valuable extra days of preparation. After this contest, there are still plenty of question marks around the team heading into that marquee clash in Charlotte.  Here’s TheWolfpacker.com’s report card for NC State’s season-opening victory. 

NC State offense grade — C-

The fourth quarter saved the team from a much closer result and an F on this report card. Up until the final period, the Pack really struggled to run the ball, averaging 3.4 yards per carry on 22 attempts. Graduate running back Jordan Waters could not establish much of a rhythm and seemed to be facing defenders in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage as soon as he touched the ball.

NC State’s offensive line pass protected well for the most part, allowing 1 sack but struggled to create many rushing lanes until it started to overpower Western Carolina late in the contest. The unit could not generate enough push for the Wolfpack to convert either of its fourth down tries in the first half. 

This was NC State’s first time scoring fewer than 40 points against an FCS opponent since putting up 24 against James Madison in 2018. 

In addition to the lackluster scoring total, the Wolfpack put the ball on the turf several times, recovering each of its 3 fumbles. Quarterback Grayson McCall also threw an interception on his fifth passing attempt in an NC State uniform, while also missing on a few throws that either fell incomplete or forced receivers to adjust back to the ball. He made some impressive passes out of structure and extended plays well, but the quarterback looked about a step out of sync with his receivers. 

McCall went 5-for-6 passing in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 318 yards, and Waters broke off a 50-yard touchdown to cap off a career-high 123-yard day. Sophomore receiver KC Concepcion wasted no time reasserting himself as a star, catching 9 passes for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns. He showed that, when the offense falters, the program can still count on him to make plays. 

The problem is the Pack should not have to rely so heavily on its superstar to score against an FCS program. NC State totaled 521 yards of offense, but that’s pretty standard considering the program played its first-string unit for the entire contest.

Defense grade — B-

The Wolfpack dropped 2 interception opportunities in the opening two plays from scrimmage Thursday, and that seemed to set the evening’s tone. NC State’s defense was close, but not quite there, on a handful of plays against Western Carolina.

Before the fourth quarter, the hosts had generated 0 sacks and 0 forced turnovers. Senior defensive lineman Davin Vann, who led the Pack with 1.5 tackles for loss, and junior nose guard Brandon Cleveland changed that with a key sack late in the game. The Catamounts did not give the ball away until the final play of the night when redshirt freshman defensive lineman Isaiah Shirley rocked the Western Carolina quarterback for his first career sack and forced a fumble that graduate safety Donovan Kaufman recovered.

Gonzales and the rest of the Catamounts found success in the quarterback run game and generated some yards on quick throws. NC State missed redshirt junior middle linebacker Caden Fordham, who left the game on the opening possession due to a targeting ejection, and senior nickel Ja’Had Carter, who did not play due to an injury that will not keep him out of the Tennessee game.

The Wolfpack gave up 6 rushing plays of 10 yards or more, and 4 of them were quarterback scrambles. Preseason all-conference slot receiver AJ Colombo also had success against NC State’s backup slot defenders, hauling in 9 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Western Carolina scored two of its touchdowns on a pair of 6-play, 75-yard drives. Other than those possessions, the defense played solid football. The Catamounts scored their first touchdown on a 1-play, 7-yard drive that was the direct result of McCall’s interception, so that does not really fall on the defense.

Giving up 14 points to an offense that averaged 504.1 yards per game last season and returns the Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year is still a solid outing, but the lack of containment for the quarterback and limited disruption in the Catamount backfield were noteworthy.

Special teams grade — A

NC State played well in the third phase of the game. Redshirt sophomore placekicker Kanoah Vinesett knocked through his lone attempt of the night from 46 yards out in the third quarter. Receivers Jalen Coit and Concepcion shared punt return duties, and the latter ripped off a 20-yard run back at one point.

Redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers returned 2 kicks, showing some impressive elusiveness on a 32-yard run before hesitating on his second attempt and picking up 17. Caden Noonkester returned for his third season as the starting punter, and the redshirt junior booted 2 attempts for an average of 37.5 yards, pinning 1 inside the 20.