What they’re saying after NC State’s loss at No. 21 Clemson

In the second marquee game of NC State’s season against a top-25 opponent, the Wolfpack could not overcome a powerful offense yet again. The Pack lost 59-35 at No. 21 Clemson on Saturday afternoon after quickly falling into a four-score deficit from which it could not recover. 

Here is what those who covered the game are saying about the Pack’s second win of the season.

Ethan McDowell, The Wolfpacker — Column: NC State football’s slow starts produce long-term concerns

NC State gave up more points in the first 30 minutes of its matchup against Clemson than it has in any half of head coach Dave Doeren’s tenure with the Pack. This was the program’s first time allowing 40 in a half since 2019. 

That 55-10 defeat, also engineered once again by the Tigers, was the third in a series of six consecutive losses to end a 4-8 season. NC State lost to its Textile Bowl rival 59-35 Saturday after falling behind 28-0 in the first quarter. 

The Pack lost its first two games against Power Four opponents by 65 points. There was a consistent, determined mood around the team after the loss to Tennessee despite a blowout loss that was not competitive in the second half. 

At that point, NC State’s goals were still laid out in front of them. The Pack failed to match Tennessee’s physicality and snowballed during that 45-point defeat, but NC State knew it had a chance to rebound against Clemson and start to move towards the ACC title goal the program held in the preseason. 

Instead, the clock trickled away on the Pack as Clemson’s backups maintained a lead and brought the Tigers win No. 800 in their program’s history. NC State’s lofty goals seem far out of reach after it failed to slow down the Tigers this weekend. The Wolfpack allowed 523 total yards, including 408 in the first half. 

Noah Fleischman, The Wolfpacker — NC State’s defense ‘not playing tough enough’ in loss at No. 21 Clemson

NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson went on the Wolfpack’s weekly radio show earlier this month and noted his defense wasn’t up to the same caliber as last year’s unit. 

“I knew we weren’t going to be the same caliber that we were the last few years, but we still have a standard here,” Gibson said then. 

But Gibson, the Pack’s sixth-year defensive guru, likely wasn’t expecting to see his unit give up 28 first-quarter points at No. 21 Clemson in a 59-35 loss on Saturday afternoon. 

“It looked like we were on our heels, I’m not sure why,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said postgame. “They had a bye week … but we didn’t use the rules of our system well. We’ve got to be better than that. That’s not who we are on defense. I know Coach Gibson’s sick to his stomach right now about it.”

Jadyn Watson-Fisher, The News & Observer — ‘We weren’t in this game’: NC State gives up program-highs in first-quarter, total points

DK Kaufman looked on helplessly as Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik found a gap between N.C. State’s defenders and ran — nothing but green grass and a giant orange paw print in the end zone ahead of him. 

Kaufman, the closest defender to Klubnik, couldn’t get around the block from Troy Stellato. When the Auburn transfer finally broke free, it was too late. That 55-yard rushing touchdown set the defensive tone for the game, and it wasn’t a good one. 

N.C. State (2-2, 0-1 ACC) lost to Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC), 59-35, on Saturday in Death Valley. The Tigers’ 59 total points and 28 first-quarter points were the most by any opponent, setting new records for the Pack’s worst defensive showing in program history. 

“You get behind early in both of them for different reasons. We were in the Tennessee game going into (the) half and (the) pick six just flipped the complexion of that,” Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren said. “We weren’t in this game. They jumped out on us fast in the first quarter.”

Andrew Carter, The News & Observer — NC State’s loss against Tennessee was bad – the one at Clemson might’ve been worse

About five minutes remained in the second quarter here at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium when droves of orange-clad fans began heading for the exits, lines of them filling the aisles on the way out. To be sure, the exodus was not because they were disappointed. 

Bored? Yes. Probably bored. Disinterested? Maybe, given the Tigers’ 59-35 victory against N.C. State was long decided, all except the final score. 

But upset? Hardly. 

How could they be, at the sight of such a one-sided annihilation by the home team? But it was, nonetheless, a mid-September Saturday in the heat and the humidity of the South Carolina Upstate, and by then, approaching halftime, there was nothing much to see — nothing at all, and especially not any kind of competitive college football game worth sticking around to watch.

Colby Trotter, Technician — COLUMN: NC State football is proving how dangerous it is to build through the transfer portal

Maybe Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is right. Maybe his unwillingness to build a roster through the transfer portal has real merit. Maybe the two-time national championship-winning head coach knows how to build a roster.

While Swinney’s approach of not using the portal at all is probably extreme, NC State football head coach Dave Doeren is proving why it can be dangerous to construct a roster with players from different schools.

In Saturday’s 59-35 loss to Clemson at Memorial Stadium, the Wolfpack fielded 10 transfers who played starting snaps — seven on offense and three on defense. The Wolfpack’s secondary, which accounts for all three defensive transfers, was picked apart by Tigers’ quarterback Cade Klubnik who threw for 3 touchdowns in just over two quarters that he played.

Pete Iacobelli, Associated Press — Klubnik, No. 21 Cemson beat NC State 59-35 in Atlantic Coast Conference opener

Cade Klubnik has been a difference-maker for Clemson this season. And that’s been key to the 21st-ranked Tigers’ offensive revival.

Klubnik, a junior in his second full season as starting quarterback, threw for 3 touchdowns and added a 55-yard scoring run in Clemson’s 59-35 win over N.C. State to start Atlantic Coast Conference play.

He accounted for 7 touchdowns — 5 passing, 2 rushing — in a 66-20 victory over Appalachian State in his previous game.

“He’s just had a lot of growth,” Clemson tailback Phil Mafah said. “Him growing as a leader, growing as a quarterback. He’s making his reads faster. He’s confident and that’s what got us here.”

That got Clemson a second straight blowout that was over by halftime. The Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) were ahead 28-0 in the first quarter and 45-7 at halftime.

Chapel Fowler, The State — Pour it on: Clemson football roasts NC State in Tigers’ ACC opener

Different North Carolina school.

Same blowout result.

The Clemson football team ran all over another opponent at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. And no, the Tigers didn’t do it to App State. They did it to N.C. State. 

Two weeks after blowing out the Mountaineers at home, No. 21 Clemson took it to another level in a 59-35 thrashing of the Wolfpack that had the Tigers looking more explosive than they have in years — and had Swinney’s program looking like an ACC favorite as it torched a team that had beaten them in two of the last three meetings.

Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports — Clemson thrashing NC State serves as reminder: No. 21 Tigers are still top contender in ACC, playoff race

No. 21 Clemson was left for dead after getting crushed by No. 2 Georgia in Week 1. The Tigers looked like a shell of the championship-caliber teams of old, and quarterback Cade Klubnik failed to show any growth in his second season as the starter. 

Just three weeks later, however, that performance feels like a mulligan. Clemson eviscerated NC State 59-35 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. The Tigers were up 45-7 at halftime and Klubnik sat essentially the entire second half. The victory follows Clemson dropping 66 points on Appalachian State in Week 3. 

Granted, the Wolfpack have been one of the greatest disappointments in college football this season after starting the season ranked in the AP Top 25. At the same time, Clemson’s dominance proves the Tigers are very much still the top contender to Miami for the ACC title.