How NC State's Offense Graded in Pitt Loss
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RALEIGH — NC State's offense put up 34 points in the loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, but didn't seem as potent or effective as the point total indicated.
The Wolfpack couldn't keep pace with the Panther offense, which hung 53 points on the heavily-injured Wolfpack defense.
Pro Football Focus grades each member of the team's performance during the game. The model takes into account every play in the game and adds it all up to create the player's total grade. Any grade from the 70s to 80s is considered a good performance. The 60s are average. Below 60 would be poor, and above 80 would be elite.
How PFF viewed NC State's performance against Pitt
The Wide Receivers
- Freshman Teddy Hoffmann - 76.9
- Senior Wesley Grimes - 65.2
- Sophomore Noah Rogers - 61.7
- Sophomore Keenan Jackson - 48.6
- Sophomore Terrell Anderson - 48.3
Hoffmann was the star of the show against the Panthers compared to the other Wolfpack wide receivers. The true freshman caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for a touchdown on a nifty double pass. Anderson, who had been the star over the last four weeks, dropped two passes in the game somewhat surprisingly.
The Tight Ends
- Senior Justin Joly - 86.2
- Senior Cody Hardy - 58.3
- Senior Dante Daniels - 56.8
Joly put together one of his best performances as a member of the NC State program, but left after suffering an injury on his most impressive play of the day. Joly was the recipient of the double-pass play from Hoffmann and did his best 'Greg Jennings' impersonation, limping all the way to the end zone. He finished with the highest score for the offense by a fairly wide margin.
The Offensive Line
- Sophomore right tackle Teague Andersen - 71.8
- Sophomore guard Rico Jackson - 66.1
- Graduate senior center Jalen Grant - 65.8
- Junior left tackle Jacarrius Peak - 62.6
- Sophomore guard Kamen Smith - 58.5
With Spike Sowells and Antony Carter Jr. both ruled out at the guard positions, Jackson and Smith were elevated into starting roles. The pair held up fine, but the offense was all out of sorts for other reasons. Jackson finished with the best pass block score of the group, grading out at 89.5 in that category.
The Running Backs
- Sophomore Hollywood Smothers - 70.2
- Redshirt freshman Duke Scott - 61.2
Outside of one explosive touchdown run for Smothers, the Wolfpack was never able to effectively run the ball against Pitt's highly touted rush defense. The star sophomore only carried the ball eight times and caught three passes in the loss. Scott had equally little success, rushing for just 39 yards. The flow of the game caused NC State to become one-dimensional and essentially abandon the run.
The Quarterbacks
- Sophomore CJ Bailey - 62.9
- Freshman Will Wilson - 61.0 (two snaps)
Bailey's numbers came out better than his actual performance in the loss. The sophomore threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns, but struggled to complete a number of key passes. He didn't face the same pressure as he did against Notre Dame, but as the deficit extended, Pitt dropped back into coverage and frustrated the sophomore quarterback.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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