Wolfpack rewind: State 34, ECU 6
THE GOOD
Seventeen players made their NC State debuts on Saturday. It's a group led by 10 true freshmen -- OL Ikem Ekwonu, Nickel Jalen Frazier, RB Jordan Houston, RB Zonovan Knight, WR Keyon Lesane, OL Dylan McMahon, DB Cecil Powell, LB Jaylon Scott, long snapper Joe Shimko, and LB Drake Thomas, brother of WR Thayer Thomas. The others were redshirt freshman CB Isaac Duffy, graduate transfer WR Tabari Hines, redshirt sophomore QB Bailey Hockman, CB Taiyon Palmer; redshirt sophomore C Liam Ryan and redshirt freshman Payton Wilson.
There were also six players making their first NC State starts Saturday. They were P Trenton Gill, C Grant Gibson, DT Val Martin, OT Emanuel McGirt, QB Matthew McKay and RB Ricky Person.
Almost all of the new starters made significant contributions to the win. McKay was 25 of 37 for 308 yards passing while accounting for three TDs; Knight led the team in rushing with 42 yards and a score on his first college touch; McGirt helped keep McKay on his feet all afternoon and recovered a key fumble while Person had a 45-yard gain on a short pass.
Of the players making their Wolfpack debuts, Wilson had six tackles, including two TFLs; Hines had a long TD reception and Lesane a 24-yard run on a jet sweep while Gill punted to a 41.6 yard average on five kicks.
THE BAD
As effective as the Wolfpack was on offense in rolling up a balanced 505 total yards (314 passing, 191 on the ground), there was still plenty of room for improvement. Atop the list of things to work on is third down efficiency.
State finished the game at 4 of 12 on possession opportunities, but that number is somewhat deceiving. It was just one for its first eight third down tries through three quarters before converting three of its final four after the game was essentially decided in the fourth. The Wolfpack also failed on a fourth-and-two play near midfield in the first half when McKay was stuffed trying to run the ball into the line.
"I'm not sure what our third down percentage was," McKay said. "But I know it could be way better."
THE OFFBEAT
Tabari Hines scored his first touchdown as a member of the Wolfpack on Saturday, taking a pass from McKay and sprinting 48 yards down the near sideline into the end zone. It was the same end zone in which Hines also scored a touchdown against State while playing for Wake Forest in 2016. It was a coincidence the graduate transfer, who played in four games at Oregon before getting hurt last season, called "surreal."
Matt McKay finds Tabari Hines WIDE OPEN and Hines houses it! 🏠#1Pack1Goal | @PackFootball @TabariHines pic.twitter.com/IhNoBdWZdo
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) August 31, 2019
STAT OF THE WEEK
Remember when State's kicking game was a punchline to a bad joke? Well, it's not anymore. Sophomore Chris Dunn made both of his field goals on Saturday -- from 27 yards out in the first quarter and 34 yards in the fourth -- and has now made 17 straight 3-point attempts dating back to last season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Matthew McKay played like a seasoned veteran in his first career start. He completed 25 of 37 passes with a touchdown and no interceptions while joining Philip Rivers in 2000 and Harrison Beck in 2007 as he only Wolfpack quarterbacks to throw for 300 or more yards in his college debut. He also ran the ball six times for 35 yards and two scores, highlighted by a 21-yard naked reverse in which he made it into the end zone untouched early in the fourth quarter.
UNSUNG HERO
Left tackle Emanuel McGirt is a former five-star prospect whose career has been sidetracked by injuries. Now a graduate student, the 6-6, 305 lineman made the most of his first career start Saturday. Not only did he anchor a line that didn't allow a sack and opened the holes that produced 191 rushing yards, he provided perhaps the most pivotal play of the game when he alertly fell on a McKay fumble at the ECU 4-yard line to save the possession and allow McKay to score on the next play. The touchdown just before halftime turned a one-score lead into a 17-3 advantage that gave State momentum carrying over into the second half.
INJURY REPORT
Teams are no longer required to issue injury reports, except in cases of players being out for the rest of the season. The most visible injury suffered by a State player on Saturday was to starting WR C.J. Riley, who was helped off the field after injuring his left leg while covering a punt in the first half and did not return. Junior right tackle Justin Witt and senior cornerback Nick McCloud also limped off the field with what appeared to be less serious injuries, though neither played again in the game.
THEY SAID IT
"A lot of guys worked really hard in training camp competing to get on the field and earn the right to play. I felt like our depth versus ECU not having a lot of depth was an advantage for us in this football game. I also feel like playing these guys early sets us up when we have an injury to not have a guy starstruck in the game." Coach Dave Doeren
"We had a game plan. We scouted these guys really well. We knew they were going to come with a chip on their shoulder after what we did o them last year. As a whole team, we have a goal set and we met it today and took care of business." Junior cornerback Chris Ingram
"They do a great job here building a very solid program. They do a good job recruiting and building the roster the right way, and there are no rebuilding years. Every year, they’re taking their guys who have been in the program three or four years, and they’re getting ready to go again. I expect them to be one of the better teams in the ACC again this year. The thing that struck me pregame when I was looking over their roster with their two-deep is that there are a bunch of ‘r’s’ next to all of their kids’ (names) – redshirt sophomore, redshirt senior, redshirt junior, all over the place. That’s the sign of a healthy program." ECU coach Mike Houston
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