UCLA vs. NC State Holiday Bowl: Scouting Report

In their final contest of 2021, the Bruins might be facing down their toughest opponent yet.

UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) will play No. 18 NC State (9-3, 6-2 ACC) in the Holiday Bowl on Tuesday, having won three in a row to the the regular season but not boasting a whole lot of postseason experience on the roster. Standing opposite of coach Chip Kelly is Dave Doeren, who is leading the Wolfpack for the ninth-straight yea and looking to hit double digit wins for the first time in his tenure.

Offensive coordinator Tom Beck came up through the ranks at Nebraska, Texas and Ohio State before joining NC State ahead of the 2020 season and being recognized as one of the top assistants in the nation in his first year there. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson coached at Michigan, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Arizona before arriving in Raleigh, and he is also in his second season as coordinator.

So with the 2021 season, the personnel and those coaches' histories in mind, here's a quick rundown of what NC State might look like come Saturday night.

NC State Offense vs. UCLA Defense

NC State Passing Yards/Game: 288.4 yards
NC State Rushing Yards/Game: 126.6 yards
UCLA Passing Yards Allowed/Game: 260.2 yards
UCLA Rushing Yards Allowed/Game: 126.8 yards

A generally balanced Wolfpack offense has leaned heavily into its strengths this season, and the No. 1 strength is the passing game.

That pass attack is spearheaded by quarterback Devin Leary, who put up 35 touchdowns to just five interceptions this season with one of the best passer efficiency ratings in the ACC this fall at 157.0. At 6-foot-1, Leary is a bit undersized for a guy who isn't much of a dual-threat – rushing for negative yards on the season – but he makes the most out of his stature with a big arm and really solid accuracy and decision making.

Just because Leary doesn't put up a lot of rushing stats, NC State still has him run a spread offense that forces him to be somewhat mobile. Leary runs a decent amount of zone reads, and there are a lot of bootlegs and designed roll outs that he uses to hit crossing receivers either in the flat or past the sticks.

Leary lines up almost exclusively in the shotgun, and for good reason – he has one of the best blind side blockers in the country in the form of Ikem Ekwonu at left tackle, and he could very easily be a day one NFL Draft pick this spring. With Ekwonu at left tackle and the always reliable center Grant Gibson holding things down, the Wolfpack's pass blocking is elite, and giving a smaller, strong-arm passer like Leary all the time he needs has helped him take the next step this season.

Dylan McMahon and Derrick Eason are underclassmen who will start at the guards and Bryson Speas is a solid veteran at right tackle, and they collectively make up a unit that will be hard to beat with pure pass rushing abilities.

The running game hasn't been as successful, even with all of that continuity and talent up front.

Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person Jr. combined for 1,389 rushing yards this year, which is far from bad, but as a team, NC State is averaging 3.8 yards per attempt. Knight and Person did combine for 396 yards and two touchdowns on 49 receptions, with Person being more of the receiving back. The talent is there in the backfield, but the overall team success is not, so the pair will probably be more of an issue when it comes to checkdowns and third-and-shorts.

For as solid as the backs are at catching the ball, receiver Emeka Emezie is the true No. 1 option in the passing game. Coming in at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, Emezie has a pro-level body and also racked up 802 yards and six touchdowns on 60 catches, clearly standing out as one of Leary's favorite targets who can win almost any 1-on-1 matchup as a reliable fifth-year player.

Receiver Thayer Thomas is the quicker, more dynamic of the two, and the Wolfpack rely on him nearly as often as they do Emezie. With 596 yards and eight touchdowns on 51 catches to go along with a few carries too, Thomas is someone who can spread defenses out wide with how much space he covers. Porter Rooks is the big-play receiver who can have his moments and Devin Carter is good for a couple catches a game as well.

Overall, with as big, physical and talented as the Wolfpack pass-catchers are – in addition to their really good offensive line and top quarterback – NC State has a clear path to carving up the UCLA defense. They are going to be throwing the ball early and often, and in order to disrupt that and force the Wolfpack to rely on a less efficient ground game, the Bruins are going to have to bring a lot of pressure with a lot of different looks throughout the night.

NC State Defense vs. UCLA Offense

UCLA Passing Yards/Game: 226.2 yards
UCLA Rushing Yards/Game: 219.7 yards
NC State Passing Yards Allowed/Game: 207.1 yards
NC State Rushing Yards Allowed/Game: 124.3 yards

The 3-3-5 defense Gibson runs may have some similarities to ones the Bruins have played against either in practice or in games this season, but it is really going to be a completely new look for them overall.

The idea of the formation is to stop big run plays, and UCLA has relied heavily on those from both running backs Zach Charbonnet and Brittain Brown, as well as quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. NC State will be going all out to make sure those three don't break off key chunk plays, and they certainly have to talent to achieve that goal.

Starting up front, defensive lineman Cory Durden does his best to plug holes and throw opposing lines off their marks, racking up 31 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss on the season. Alongside Durden is edge rusher Daniel Joseph, who ranks second on the team with 5.0 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss while also forcing two fumbles.

As disruptive as those two and the other rotating linemen are, it's the three linebackers who have gotten the Wolfpack's defense to where it is entering the postseason. Drake Thomas has 99 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and three interceptions, so not only does he get all over the field, but he is also one of the best playmakers at his position in the entire country.

Vi Jones hasn't been as elite as Thomas, but he still ranks towards the top of the team leaderboards with 8.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks, and true freshman Devon Betty has been one of their best guys at wrapping up backs behind the line of scrimmage since becoming a starter in the second half of the year.

Those six players up front are key in stopping the run, spreading out wide and letting their veteran and high-IQ players find the right holes and shut them down on a regular basis. With as creative as Kelly and offensive coordinator Justin Frye are with the run game and moving around O-linemen, perhaps UCLA can cause enough confusion to outscheme NC State on the ground.

Then, the problem becomes the Wolfpack secondary.

Safety Tanner Ingle has 82 tackles, so he clearly has the smarts and athleticism to make his way to any spot on the field. The upperclassman also had an interception and four pass deflections in 2021, so he is more than just a tackle machine set up deep. Even with multiple players having to rotate in at the opposite safety spot, Ingle's talent makes him a commanding enough presence to carry the position group no matter what.

At corner, NC State has been starting Derrek Pitts and Shyheim Battle, both of whom have multiple interceptions on the season. Nickel back Tyler Baker-Williams has two picks as well, and his backup Joshua Pierre-Louis has one of his own, so no matter which way Thompson-Robinson throws, he'll likely be going against a guy with real playmaking abilities.

Trying to take the top off the Wolfpack defense will be tough with such a reliable player like Ingle patrolling the deep ball, and the rest of the defensive backs have enough skill in man coverage to make things difficult in other matchups as well. Thompson-Robinson has shown a much-improved ability to protect the ball and take what defenses are giving him, so the Bruins are certainly in a position to still move the ball, now it's just a matter of how far and how many times they reach the end zone.

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