North Carolina State Scouting

Oct 11, 2016, 10:35 PM

Another week, another game. After requests to keep these going here is my NC State Edition.

So without further ado, here we go, and remember, my data collection is beneath the analysis:

KEYS TO BEATING NC STATE

1) Tempo

-ECU was VERY successful between the 20s using Tempo to keep them on their heels
-Very effective at slowing down the NC State defensive line

2) Attack the edges

-Watching film on NC State shows that their secondary is very suspect when faced with 1 on 1 coverages. We will see a lot of that I think as they should stack the box to try and take away our running game.
-ECU was not effective in lining up and knocking them off the ball but was VERY effective attacking the edges.

3) Neutralize their defensive line and get their Linebackers confused

-#9 Chubb and #35 Street at the end spots, #27 Jones and #98 Hill at the tackle spots, are all juniors and have played well for the most part this season.
-I think we can attack them directly but it’s not the path of least resistance. Fruhmorgen will need to play better because I’m sure they have seen our film and have identified him as not being consistent, and I expect them to shift 9 and 35 around to try and get pressure on our QB.

4)Attack the secondary when man coverage is presented

-I mentioned earlier how their secondary is suspect to playing man coverage. Last time I checked, we have the best receivers in the country. I expect us to attack, attack, and attack more through the air.

5) Special Teams

-While their Kick and punt coverage has been very good, their kicking situation has not. If this game comes down to FG attempts, I’ll take Huegel over both of their kickers. They are only 4/7 on the season with a long of 48 yards (48 yards is an outlier, they have missed the other 2 attempts over 40 yards (44 and 42)). If they have to attempt kicks over 40 yards, then consider that advantage us.

6) Stop Ryan Finley

-You want to stop NC State? Stop Finley. He has yet to throw an interception and has thrown 9 TD passes. Get pressure on him (we will, oh yes we will) and force him out of the pocket and watch his 70% completion decrease as the game plays out.

PREDICTION

Clemson 52, NC State 17

-I don't think we will shut them out like we did 2 years ago and NC State has played well (for the most part) this season, but we are by far the best team they will have faced all season. Finley will have a hard time finding receivers but he will find them at times. We will stop their running game cold and make them one dimensional, but by stacking the box to stop their running game will leave some of our linebackers at times in 1 on 1 coverage, and if our defense has a weakness, pass coverage from the LB spots (consistently) is it. Yes, we are deeper, but I full expect State to attack the zone where Boulware will be (in the passing game, it's no secret that Ben isn't the best in consistently covering receivers). Coach V will neutralize this by blitzing from the weak side of the field (don't be surprised to see some corner blitzes as well). Get them to 3rd down and attack. We'll have control of this game by late in the 1st half and then be in full control by the end of the 3rd quarter. Expect Nick and Kelly to get a series a piece in mop up duty in the 4th quarter.

NC ST Note Breakdown

• 4-1 Overall, 1-0 in the conference (additional win over ND)
o Wins over William and Mary, Old Dominion, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame (All at Home)
o Loss @ ECU 33-30
• Remaining games @Clemson, @Louisville, vs BC, vs Florida State, @Syracuse, vs Miami, @UNC
o Their win against ND was huge because they need to win 6 to be bowl eligible (brutal stretch run their last 7 games of the season)
• Team Stats
o Offense
? 34 points/game
? Have outscored opponents 95-38 in the 1st half
• 61-22 in the 2nd quarter alone
? 1229 Yards Passing, 989 Yards Rushing
• Average of 444.4 yards/game
o 19
? 12 Rushing TDs, 10 Passing TDs
? Only committed 5 turnovers in 5 games (4 fumbles lost/10 total fumbles, 1 interception by a backup QB)
? QB Ryan Finley
• 89/128 1041 yards, 70% completion
• 8.13 yards/attempt
• 9 Touchdowns, 0 interceptions
o Defense
? 17.6 points/game
• 10 total touchdowns, 7 total field goals
? 944 Yards Passing, 455 yards Rushing
• Average of 279.8 yards/game
o 91 Rushing Yards/game, 188.8 passing yards/game
• Held Notre Dame to 113 total yards
o 54 passing, 59 Rushing
o Yes during Hurricane Matthew and the field was not in the best of conditions during that game, but their offensive line dominated the ND D-line the entire game.
? 5 Touchdowns Passing, 5 Touchdowns Rushing
? Defense is only allowing teams to convert 3rd downs 28.2% of the time (20/71)
? Forced 7 turnovers (3 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions)
• +2 Turnover Margin
? 36 Tackles for Loss
o Special Teams
? 2 Kickers
• Bambard
o 19/21 PATs
o 4/5 FGs
? Long of 48
? 1 missed 30-39 range
• Haskins
o 1/1 PATs
o 0/2 FGs (both 40-49 range)
o Penalties
? 32 committed, 322 total yards
• Average of 6 per game, 60 yards per game
• Breakdown of their Loss Against ECU
o 4/11 3rd Downs
o Outgained ECU 502-445
o 8 Penalties for 54 Yards
o 1 Turnover (fumble lost)
o 13 Tackles for Loss
o 1/3 FGs
? Haskins missed both his kick attempts
? Bambard made the 30 yarder he was called in to kick but this was his only attempt
o They were able to move the ball, but the 8 penalities were at crucial times and would stall their drives
o If Bambard has 3 FG attempts instead of 1 they win this game
o Their Defense gave up 445 total yards
o ECU scored the first 12 points (FG, TD/missed PAT, FG) then NC State scored 2 touchdowns (2nd TD failed 2PT attempt)
o Game was 20-19 NC State at halftime
o Losing @ECU is not good, they are 2-4 with losses @ SC (bahahaha), @ VT (54-17), UCF (47-29), @USF (38-22)
o They have however played more consistent (Wake’s only loss so far this season is to NC State, that game was never closer than 10 points except ½ way through the first quarter)
• Key Players
o #21 Matthew Dayes, Running Back.
? 5-9, 200lbs
? Been in the System and knows how to play the position and what they are trying to do on offense (one of the 17 returning starters on this team)
? Short and stocky, can be difficult to bring down at times when he runs behind his offensive line
o #15 Ryan Finley, Quarterback
? 6-4, 200lbs
? Very Accurate so far this season and has yet to throw an interception, even in crunch time and when his team was down to the opponent
? Weather was a factor as well against ND, but was only 5/12 for 27 yards in that game, did have pressure on obvious passing situations
o #1 Jaylen Samuels, Tight End
? 5-11, 223lbs
? Leading receiver with 21 catches, 191 Yards, 4 TDs
? Also it used in the running game, has 18 carries for 102 yards and 3 rushing TDs
? Used all over the field and can fill many roles
o #9 Bradley Chubb, Defensive End
? 6-4, 275lbs
? Leads the team with 5 sacks, 8.5 Tackles for Loss
? Part of a very solid defensive line

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I gave you a thumb up for that.

While their QB has quite an impressive completion rate and also their offense/defense have a really impressive number, it's all because they haven't played anyone with a pulse. Let's just not count the ND game as that was a mess. They played W&M, East Carolina, Old Dominion and Wake Forest.

The only away game they have played this year was East Carolina and it was a loss. I give East Carolina credit for having a good offense.

This Clemson program is not like the ones in the past years. The talent level that we have right now and how the coaches keep them in focus have separated as from everybody else. We're moving up to the elite status.

We win by at least 3-4 TDs.

North Carolina State Scouting

Impressive. +1***

Thank you for the detailed analysis.

Couldn't agree more***

Thank you. But the ND game stats for both teams

very true and agreed. Not much to pull from it***

Re: Thank you. But the ND game stats for both teams

Plus, ND is just not very good this year.

Great analysis! +1***

Re: North Carolina State Scouting

Re: North Carolina State Scouting

Well done sir

That's a good idea but it's not what we're going to do.

the puppies always play us well tho***

41-0 in 2014, they were outclassed that day

While their OOC schedule is horrendous

Thursday Bump***

Friday Bump!***

I wouldn't say State is necessarily good at kickoff return

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