Three keys and a prediction
After getting the 2019 season off to a winning start last Saturday with a 34-6 win against East Carolina, the NC State football team figures to have an even easier time with another in-state opponent -- Western Carolina.
The Wolfpack is a 41 1/2-point favorite against the Catamounts, who lost their opening game to Mercer last week. With a date at West Virginia coming up next week, this is an opportunity for the Wolfpack to gain a little more confidence and momentum before its first real text of the new campaign.
Here are three keys that will help coach Dave Doeren's team make that happen:
Clean up first game mistakes
For a first game with so many news starters in the lineup, things couldn't have gone much better for the Wolfpack against ECU last week. But the team still left plenty of meat on the bone in all three phases of the game -- mistakes that didn't hurt them on this occasion, but will eventually if they're not addressed and eliminated. There were two fumbles that could have been pivotal had State not recovered them to retain possession, a penalty that nullified an interception and a special teams breakdown that led to an 80-plus yard return that also got called back by an infraction, along with assorted missed assignments, drops and other issues that need to be cleaned up before the aforementioned trip to Morgantown.
Convert third downs
As effective as the Wolfpack was on offense in rolling up a balanced 505 total yards (314 passing, 191 on the ground) against ECU, it might have been even better if it could have been more efficient on third down. State went 0 for 8 on possession opportunities during the first three quarters while also failing on a fourth-and-two play from near midfield when quarterback Matthew McKay was stuffed trying to run the ball into the line. On the positive side, the Wolfpack did convert its final four third down chances in the fourth quarter to finish 4 of 12 for the game and establish a little momentum that needs to carry over to this week.
Take care of business early
It's not that the Wolfpack will be in danger of losing the game if, like last week, it takes a little time to find its stride. It's just that the faster they put the Catamounts away, the more snaps there will be available in the second half for players like young receivers Jasiah Provillon, Max Fisher and Keyon Lesane, offensive lineman Ikey Ekwonu, linebacker Drake Thomas, defensive end Xavier Lyas and backup quarterback Bailey Hockman to get experience that will be helpful as he season goes on the games get tougher.
Prediction
This is little more than a scrimmage for the Wolfpack. It's a chance to work on some things and gain a little confidence before the season really gets started next week at West Virginia. Last week, State conquered the East part of the state. This time it gets to take care of the Western half ... Wolfpack 47, Catamounts 10
Add us as a preferred source on Google