'We just gotta finish': NC State struggles to capitalize in the red zone in loss to Duke

NC State believed it moved past its red zone issues that plagued the Wolfpack earlier in the season, including its 24-17 loss to Syracuse that featured three turnovers in the area. The Pack had become more efficient in its past two games, both wins over Cal and Stanford, going 10-for-11 in its scoring opportunities. 

But when the Wolfpack welcomed Duke to Carter-Finley Stadium for senior day, NC State’s offense found itself stuck in the mud once it entered the red zone yet again. The Pack was 5-for-6 in scoring inside the 20-yard line, but it had to settle for four field goals in the process as it lost 29-19 to the Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon. 

That appeared to frustrate NC State coach Dave Doeren postgame.

“I thought we had corrected that coming out of the last bye,” Doeren said. “We were much better, but today, we were really bad down there. … We got points, but you need touchdowns to win a game like that.”

NC State’s lone touchdown in the red zone came on 4th-and-16 as freshman quarterback CJ Bailey found a wide-open junior wide receiver Wesley Grimes in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. His pass was slightly off, making Grimes reach for it, while he somehow kept his feet in bounds for the fourth-quarter touchdown. 

Other than that, it was all redshirt sophomore kicker Kanoah Vinesett in the money-making part of the field. He nailed his first four field goals before he missed the fifth attempt as he was going to tie the program record for most made kicks in a game, which was set by Nathan Ritter in the 1978 campaign. Vinesett’s longest field goal make as a result of the offense moving the ball was a 30-yarder, signaling the Pack’s drives that stalled deep in Blue Devils territory. 

But NC State’s red zone struggles were a result of the Wolfpack’s inability to consistently connect in the passing game, both Bailey and Doeren believed postgame. Bailey, who was 18-of-20 passing against Stanford, turned in his lowest completion rate of the fall with a 16-of-39 performance that led to just 184 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

The Miami, Fla., native owned his inaccurate passes, which forced NC State’s wide receivers into tough plays and led to several dropped passes throughout the night. Some of his throws were too low, while others were high and forced the receivers to leap to attempt to make the play. That seemed to not sit well with the first-year college quarterback afterwards. 

“We could have played way better, I could have played way better,” Bailey said. “It was just that finishing point again, we couldn’t finish in the red zone. … I missed a lot of throws that I wish I could have back. We drive the ball, every game we’re moving the ball, we just gotta finish.”

Bailey isn’t wrong. NC State’s ability to move the football hasn’t been the issue this season — and it wasn’t against the Blue Devils. The Pack, despite rushing for just 84 yards on 29 attempts (2.9 yards per carry), put together five drives that traveled further than 50 yards and had its chances to find pay dirt in the defeat. 

But the Pack just couldn’t break through. That’s what hurt the offense the most. 

Duke’s defense, which entered the night as the No. six total unit in the ACC, used zero blitzes to keep NC State on its heels in the red area, while it also appeared to clamp down even further each time the Pack threatened to score a touchdown.

“They covered us, they rushed us, they stopped the run — we didn’t get it done,” Doeren said. “We got outplayed in that area of the field. There’s nothing magic about it. … They made more plays down there than us.”

Bailey was 2-for-6 for 15 yards with a touchdown, while he was hurried twice and had two passes defended, while he logged two carries for six yards, in the red zone against Duke’s stout defense. 

How does NC State fix its struggles to find pay dirt in the red zone? The Wolfpack’s young quarterback thought the solution was “just digging a little bit deeper in the red zone”.

“We bust our ass the whole drive, I know some of our guys are tired, and I try my best to tell them to keep fighting,” Bailey said. “We got down here for a reason, we’re not going to just waste our drive. But it happens.”

In the end, NC State felt like it had a chance to win the game. The Wolfpack held the Blue Devils to a 0-for-9 total on third down, while it picked up three more than Duke for the game. It also limited the Blue Devils to just 31 rushing yards on 27 attempts, good for 1.1 yards per carry. 

But Duke was the team that was more successful in the red zone. It didn’t settle for chip-shot field goals like NC State had to throughout the entire game. And drops and inaccurate throws doomed the Wolfpack’s offense in the prime area of the field.

“We played good enough in that game for us to win, and we just didn’t connect offensively enough,” Doeren said. “He threw some good balls that were dropped, he threw behind a couple guys, he threw high to a couple guys. And we have to make some play calls in certain situations to help, but collectively, it’s not good enough.”

“We gotta finish. It’s not about being 100% scoring if they’re all field goals,” Doeren later added. “You gotta get some touchdowns. It’s execution more than anything.”