Postgame Observations: Wake Forest 44, State 10
WINSTON-SALEM -- NC State needed a lot of things to go right to have a legitimate shot at beating 20th-ranked Wake Forest at BB&T Field on Saturday.
Instead, everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong for the battered Wolfpack in a 44-10 loss that represented the Deacons' most lopsided ACC victory ever on its home field. It was State's eighth loss in its last nine trips to Winston-Salem.
The miscues started early with a fumble by Keyon Lesane on a kickoff return that helped put State into a quick two-touchdown hole and things only went downhill from there. It became 21-0 when first-time starting quarterback Devin Leary was intercepted on his team's second possession, leading to yet another Wake touchdown.
It didn't help the young quarterback's cause that his leading rusher, Zonovan Knight, left the game with an injury in the first quarter and never returned and another back, Trent Pennix was also sidelined later. Overall, the Wolfpack (4-4, 1-3 ACC) mustered only 265 total yards -- its lowest total of the season.
Deacons quarterback Jamie Newman, meanwhile, had a field day in his return a two-game absence with a shoulder issue. He picked apart a State secondary that started two inexperienced cornerbacks because of injuries, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more before leaving late in the third quarter.
As bad as things were Saturday, this still might not be rock bottom for the reeling Wolfpack -- which needs to win two of its final four games to become bowl eligible. Next week's opponent is defending national champion Clemson. So it can still get worse.
Here are some quick observations from an ugly afternoon in Winston-Salem ...
◼ With its top three corners out with injuries, State’s defense had to put pressure on Wake quarterback Newman to have any prayer of containing the ACC’s top-rated passing defense. It didn’t and predictably, Newman had a field day picking apart replacement corners De’Von Graves and Malik Dunlap. Playing for the first time since Oct. 12 against Louisville, Newman returned from a shoulder issue to complete 25 of 38 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Overall, the Deacons rolled up 418 yards of total offense against a Wolfpack defense that is barely a shell of its self because of injuries. Adding to the long list of injuries is linebacker Isaiah Moore, who left the game early in the second half and didn’t return.
◼ Leary’s first career start didn’t go well. He got off to a promising start by hitting three of his first four passes, but then things went South in a hurry. He was intercepted by Amari Henderson on State’s second possession and with the exception of two drives late in the first half -- accounting for both Wolfpack scores -- never seemed to find a rhythm. The redshirt freshman went 17 of 45 for 149 yards, a touchdown and those two picks. But his throws were all over the place, going over receivers’ heads, behind them and on a couple of occasions, to no one in particular. Considering that he’s the third quarterback to start a game for the Wolfpack this season, coach Dave Doeren doesn’t have many more options left. "He made some good throws," Doeren said of Leary afterward. "He was in a difficult situation down 21-0 and they were able to devend the coverages at that point. He did some bad things and it's going to be a great game for him to learn from. Tough way to learn, but Devin just keeps fighting.
NC State receiver Tabari Hines is laid out by a Wake Forest defender (Jeremy Brevard/USAToday sports)
Devin Leary had a tough day in his first career start Saturday (Jeremy Brevard/USAToday sports)
State nickel Tyler Baker-Williams tries in vain to prevent Wake Forest's Kendall Hinton from catching a pass (Jeremy Brevard/USAToday sports)
Tight end Jack Freudenthal catches one of his three touchdown passes in Wake's 44-10 win (Jeremy Brevard/USAToday sports)
Wake Forest running back Kenneth Walker is flipped upside down by NC State safety Tanner Ingle (Jeremy Brevard/USAToday sports)
Wolfpack receiver Emeka Emezie goes up in a crowd to try and catch a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half (Jeremy Brevard/USAToday sports)
◼ What started out as a deep, talented running back corps is rapidly depleting. Knight went out early and never returned following a play in which he gained a first down off a direct snap. He was seen on the sideline in the second half in street clothes. The good news is that he wasn't on crutches or a walking boot, so it appears as though the injury might not be serious. Trent Pennix also left with some sort of medical issue. With Ricky Person Jr. already sidelined, Jordan Houston is now the only healthy scholarship back. Walkon Will Dabbs finished out the game, carrying twice for two yards.
◼ Self-inflicted mistakes continue to plague the Wolfpack. In addition to the two interceptions and the fumble on the kickoff return -- all of which were converted into points by the opportunistic Deacons -- State committed 10 penalties for 87 yards and allowed Wake to covert 10 of 19 third down situations. At least three of those third down conversions came by way of penalties, mistakes teams with such a small margin for error simply can't make against good teams. "We've just got to get better," Doeren said. I don't even want to look at the score right now. There's a lot to fix."
Add us as a preferred source on Google