Holliday: NC State makes a statement, UNC and Duke continue to slip
Posted October 31, 2023 9:31 a.m. EDT
Updated October 31, 2023 10:54 a.m. EDT
NC State made history Saturday, handing Clemson its second consecutive ACC loss. The Tigers had not lost back-to-back league games in 12 years. Meanwhile, both North Carolina and Duke dropped critical conference contests for the second straight Saturday. Their championship hopes which seemed so real are now quickly fading.
Doeren’s team makes a statement
Since losing at Duke 24-3, NC State has been largely overlooked by local media, the attention going to the other two Triangle teams, which were undefeated in ACC play not long ago. The Wolfpack probably felt under-appreciated and definitely felt disrespected, as we learned after the win over Clemson.
ESPN had invited former Panthers’ star Steve Smith to be guest picker on the network’s popular “College Game Day” program Saturday morning. Smith picked Clemson to win adding, “NC State, unfortunately, they’re waiting for basketball to start.”
Doeren, when interviewed live on the field following the Wolfpack’s 24-17 triumph didn’t mince words.
“Tell Steve Smith in the studio this ain’t a basketball school. He can kiss my (expletive).”
Never mind the fact that the sideline reporter interviewing Doeren is employed by Raycom and the CW Network, which are not part of ESPN. Doeren’s message was heard loud and clear.
NC State caught Clemson by surprise early in the first quarter, as Doeren and his staff made some changes after the abysmal result at Duke.
The Pack lined up with wide receiver KC Concepcion in the backfield. Concepcion took a handoff from M.J. Morris and bolted around end for 50 yards. Moments later, Concepcion blew past a Clemson defender and caught a pass for NC State’s first touchdown in three weeks. Clemson had to play catch up the rest of the day.
The opportunistic Wolfpack scored again early in the second quarter. Two huge Tiger penalties helped push the Pack across midfield. Morris found Keyon Lesane for 12 yards at the Clemson 31. On third down, State inserted Brennan Armstrong into the game at quarterback. Armstrong bulled his way for seven yards, making the field goal attempt by Braden Narveson more manageable. Narveson was true from 41 yards. 10-0.
Clemson scored on the next series, but star running back Will Shipley suffered a game ending injury at the one yard line. Without Shipley, who can run inside as well as outside and is also a dangerous receiver coming out of the backfield, Clemson was pushed repeatedly into punting situations, though of course NC State’s resilient defense also had a lot to do with that. The Tigers’ Aiden Swanson punted seven times, four of those boots coming after Shipley’s injury.
NC State scored twice in the third quarter to push Clemson into a very deep hole on a day where the Wolfpack defense did not give up the big play.
Cade Klubnik passed from his own 15. State’s Devin Betty deflected the ball, and it fell into the hands of linebacker Payton Wilson. The Pack’s defensive leader, Wilson was once a high school quarterback and knew exactly what to do. Pick six.
On State’s next offensive possession, Concepcion ran a crossing pattern and caught a pass from Morris in stride. The Tigers’ man coverage in the secondary broke down, and Concepcion raced away to a 72 yard touchdown. Given the pace of this defensive battle, the Pack’s 24-7 lead seemed insurmountable.
But State suffered its own devastating injury late in the third quarter. Wilson left the game after tackling the Tigers’ 230 pound back Phil Mafah. Wilson did not return. During the minutes in which Wilson played, Clemson produced just 200 yards total offense and 7 points. With Wilson on the sidelines, the Tigers in 19 minutes amassed 164 yards, adding 10 more points and nearly more.
Clemson, however, could never get to 24. Mafah scored Clemson’s second touchdown on the drive that began with Wilson’s injury. Jonathan Weitz added a chip shot field goal after missing badly in the first half. Clemson certainly had all the momentum in the fourth quarter but big defensive plays helped State preserve its lead.
Jalen Scott sacked Klubnik and forced a fumble. Clemson recovered but the Tigers lost 17 yards and had to punt. Clemson did not get the ball back for four long minutes.
Also, during Clemson’s final drive, the Pack was able to get pressure on Klubnik with just three rushers. The Tigers moved to midfield and earned a 2nd and 1 with 1:15 left in the game. Clemson ran six more plays, but with State able to drop eight defenders into coverage, the Tigers were not able to advance.
Credit to the Wolfpack staff and players after the Duke loss, for blocking out all the negativity (some of which came from their own fan base) and winning a football game where NC State was outgained 364 to 202. And for the next week at least, NC State has just two ACC losses, the same as UNC and Duke.
Curse of Atlanta haunts the Heels
No doubt many NC State fans found something extra to cheer about when the much-publicized North Carolina Tar Heels lost to a lesser opponent for the second straight week. Tar Heel players may have overlooked Virginia last week, but Mack Brown made sure his squad was aware of the program’s tortured history against Georgia Tech, especially in Atlanta. And he may not have needed to say too much, because UNC’s veteran players have lived that history. The Yellow Jackets had won four of the last five prior to Saturday night.
North Carolina certainly looked prepared offensively. The Tar Heel coaches wanted a run-first mentality this week with Omarion Hampton getting more touches after he was all but ignored in the second half of the loss to Virginia. The Heels did indeed run the ball – for 267 yards and Hampton gained 153 of those. The ground game led to a very efficient passing performance by Drake Maye. He completed 17-25 for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
The UNC offense gained 577 total yards and scored 42 points, which should have been enough. But it wasn’t.
Georgia Tech started slowly, coming up empty on the Jackets’ first three possessions. UNC built a two-touchdown lead. But once Haynes King heated up, Tech matched UNC’s explosive offense. GT scored 24 points in just over 11 minutes of the second quarter. Brown, in the ACC Network’s halftime interview noted: “They’re picking on our corners.”
UNC kept the football for all but 1:44 of the third quarter, extending its lead to 35-24. And yet as the fourth quarter unfolded, analyst Tim Hasselbeck observed the Tar Heel defense “looks tired.”
Meanwhile Tech running back Dontae Smith was quite fresh. Smith had not played since suffering an injury in game one against Louisville. But he made up for lost time against Carolina. You could say Smith ran wild in the second half, finishing with 178 yards and a stunning 70 yard touchdown.
The Yellow Jackets really pushed the tempo in the second half, and were able to run up and down the field on the bewildered Heels. It was like 2022 all over again as GT scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, thanks to 256 yards rushing. I mean did you see King butcher the UNC defense with a 50 yard run on the zone read? Yeah, it was that kind of fourth quarter.
So dominant was Tech’s running game that King only needed to complete two passes in the entire second half – for a grand total of 17 yards. Brent Key’s team hurt the Heels in the first half with the pass. After UNC defensive coordinator Gene Chizik’s halftime adjustments, the Jackets countered with the up-tempo run game. UNC could never stop it.
And finally there was the “Atlanta factor.” Noah Burnette, who was 11-11 on the season, missed a field goal. And Tez Walker, on the receiving end of a 36 yard pass from Maye, fumbled after taking a blind side hit from Ahmari Harvey. Walker had to be helped off the field.
That ended UNC’s chance to overcome “the curse of Atlanta.”
Devils drubbed
Duke competed evenly last week at No. 4 Florida State until Riley Leonard reinjured his ankle and had to leave the game. The Seminoles then ran off 21 unanswered points.
The Blue Devils were never in the game at No. 15 Louisville. The Cardinals, buoyed by the return of star running back Jawhar Jordan, marched for touchdowns on their first two drives. It was all downhill after that.
So dominant was Jordan, who rushed for 163 yards, that the normally prolific Jake Plummer only needed to pass 16 times for 117 yards. Jeff Brohm’s Cardinals have more than one way to win.
Duke did limit U of L to 2-12 on third down conversions. That’s a good defensive stat, right? Trouble is the Cards did so much damage on first and second downs, most of the third downs weren’t that important. Louisville controlled the football for 37 minutes.
Offensively, Duke was shut out for the first time this season, and gained only 202 yards. In fairness, the Blue Devils played without all star tackle Graham Barton, who is again injured. The Devils played most of the way without Jacob Monk, who was injured during the game Saturday. Duke’s normally formidable run game produced an anemic 50 yards without these two important blockers.
More importantly perhaps, Louisville’s defense is very much underrated. The Cardinals have held four straight opponents, including NC State and Notre Dame, to less than 300 yards.
Duke ran only a handful of plays in Louisville territory and never crossed the Cards’ 30 yard line.
Duke, like its Triangle rivals, is not eliminated from the ACC Championship chase. But the Devils will need to win out to have a chance. Same with NC State and North Carolina. The Triangle teams, all of whom have two losses, will need outside help against one-loss teams Louisville and Virginia Tech. If all of that happens, all eyes will be on the rollout of the ACC’s new tie breaker procedure. NC State is for now in the hunt. UNC and Duke, who controlled their own destiny less than two weeks ago, now face a lot of ifs.
