Rob Kinnan/USAToday sports
Wolfpack Kickoff: Week 11, Georgia Tech
NC State (4-6, 1-5 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech (2-8, 1-6 ACC)
Bobby Dodd Stadium (55,500)
8 p.m., ESPN (PxP: Adam Amin; Analyst: Matt Hasselbeck and Pat McAfee, Sideline: Molly McGrath)
Streaming: WatchESPN; National radio: Sirius 108, XM 193; Live stats: GoPack.com
Weather at kickoff: Partly cloudy, 55 degrees at kickoff, zero percent chance of rain
Series history: Georgia Tech leads 19-10 (10-4 in Atlanta)
Last meeting: Georgia Tech 56, State 23, Nov. 8, 2014
Last week: State lost to Louisville 34-20, Georgia Tech lost to Virginia Tech 45-0
BetOnline line: State plus 2 | Over/Under 46 1/2
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
"They understand that it’s a sudden death mentality if you’re thinking bowl season. We’ve got to win this one first. It’s the only one that matters. If you get this one, then you can talk about that. I would tell you that the senior class has never finished a season not in a bowl game, so those guys are talking about that, they want that. ... It’s great to talk about what you want, it’s more important to understand what it takes to get it." Coach Dave Doeren
"I don’t know if we played our brand of football (against Virginia Tech) on Saturday. Our brand of football is to come out and give unbelievable effort in every single phase, on every single play, compete at the highest level on every single snap, play with unbelievable energy and excitement and enthusiasm and play together. That’s on me as a coach and those are things that, we had ‘tell the truth Sunday,’ it was done by 10 a.m. and we were moving on to get ready on a short week. The guys have handled it. They’re committed to continuing to get better every single day and [I’m] excited to see them play Thursday night.” Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins
"We see lots of comparisons. They've had a lot of injuries. They're playing a lot of young guys and so are we. But I'm sure they won't use that as an excuse and they're going to come out ready to play. We're going to come out ready to play as well." Sophomore linebacker Isaiah Moore
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NC State stats | Georgia Tech stats
| NC STATE | GEORGIA TECH | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Passing | Devin Leary | 75-159-3 894 6 TD | James Graham | 75-158-7 995 yards 8 TD |
Rushing | Zonovan Knight | 106 carries 589 yards 4 TD | Jordan Mason | 134 carries 721 yards 7 TD |
Receiving | Emeka Emezie | 51 catches 521 yards 2 TD | Adonicas Sanders | 19 catches 249 yards 0 TD |
Thayer Thomas | 30 catches 328 yards 3 TD | Ahmarean Brown | 18 catches 365 yards 5 TD | |
Defense | Tanner Ingle | 66 tackles 5 TFL 4 PBU | David Curry | 81 tackles 2 sacks 1 INT |
Larrell Murchison | 43 tackles 11 TFL 7 sacks | Charlie Thomas | 57 tackles 2 sacks 2 FF |
NOTABLE
The Wolfpack has won its last five games against ACC Coastal Division opponents, including its last three on the road dating back to 2016. State's last road loss to a Coastal Division team was at Virginia Tech in 2015. ...
State has won its two most recent trips to Georgia Tech, beating the Yellow Jackets 45-28 in 2010 and 17-13 in 2005. ...
Center Grant Gibson is the only Wolfpack offensive player to start every game at the same position this season
Ben Queen/USAToday sports
State has started 45 different players have started at least one game on either offense or defense this season. That's the highest number of starters among Power 5 conferences nationally. Only one player, center Grant Gibson, has started every game at the same position on offense. Safeties Tanner Ingle and Jariius Morehead are the only players to start every game at the same position on offense.
The Wolfpack hasn't forced a turnover since the fourth quarter against Ball State on Sept. 28. By contrast, it's offense has coughed the ball up 11 times during its current four-game losing streak. The opposition has turned those 11 giveaways into scores nine times (eight for touchdowns) while ringing up 59 points off turnovers. ...
