To stop Wake Forest, NC State stuffed the run
Savion Jackson is a key member of NC State‘s formidable run defense. He disrupts at the line of scrimmage, makes key tackles for little to no gain and prevents running backs from generating any positive momentum.
He finished with 4 tackles, 2 for loss, and lived in the backfield early during the Wolfpack’s 26-6 win over Wake Forest. After keeping the Demon Deacons behind the sticks throughout the matchup, he made a major impact as a pass rusher with 2 first quarter sacks.
That was his first game with multiple tackles for loss this fall, and the second-consecutive contest where the Pack held its opponents to single-digit points. For Jackson, this is all a part of the defensive tradition that he spent the past five seasons building alongside his teammates.
“It’s our standard as a defense to do what we do,” Jackson said. “It’s really normal. When we talk about this stuff, it’s normal.”
The Wolfpack drifted away from its identity early in the season, allowing explosive rushing touchdowns of 50 yards or more against UConn, Notre Dame and Duke. After the bye week, NC State’s defense locked in and, during its clash against Wake Forest, the program did not allow a rush longer than 7 yards.
Senior linebacker Jaylon Scott echoed Jackson’s sentiment. They were both a part of the program for its 4-8 2019 season. They put in the work to help right the course coming out of the October bye week and kept the program forever reaching that low again during their tenures in Raleigh.
“These are my guys,” Scott said. “I love them. I’d do anything for them.”
Scott said the Wolfpack did not communicate well at times earlier in the season. The unit addressed those issues during the open date and left them in the past.
“I’m very proud of our defense, especially from where we came from at the beginning of the year, knowing that we got like the screws screwed in and the bolts tightened up,” Scott said.
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NC State head coach Dave Doeren is extremely proud of this unit. In its first 7 games, the defense allowed 23.6 points per game, Since then, the Pack is only giving up an average of 9.7 per contest.
“Our defense is awesome man,” Doeren said. “Those guys do a great job.”
At 100.3 yards allowed per game, the Wolfpack’s rushing defense ranks No. 3 in the ACC. On top of elite run support, which held Wake Forest’s slow mesh offense to 0.4 yards per carry, NC State also allowed 3 passing plays of 15 yards or more, containing the Demon Deacons passing attack.
Cornerbacks Aydan White and Shyheim Battle continued their high level of play and held Wake Forest’s leading receiver Jahmal Banks to 0 receptions.
“I thought Aydan and Shy Battle both really played at a high level,” Doeren said.
Despite the authoritative win, the defense remains unsatisfied. Once the team returns to the facility Saturday night, Jackson said the Wolfpack is ready to get back to work.
“Even though it’s 6 points, later on in different games down the line, those 6 points can be the deciding factor of a win or a loss,” Jackson said. “That’s our angle that we take as a defense.”
