2021 Schedule Preview and Prediction: Clemson at NC State

Doeren has had his issues with Clemson over the years, on and off the field. (Photo: Brett Davis / USATODAY)

by Zachary Wagner - Correspondent - Sat Jun 26 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2021

The Clemson football team plays its first true road game in week four of the 2021 schedule, traveling northeast to Raleigh, North Carolina for a matchup with North Carolina State. The Wolfpack were one of the most surprising turnaround teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2020, going from a 4-8 2019 season and flipping the record to 8-4 in the pandemic-affected regular season, losing to Kentucky in the Gator Bowl 23-21 to close out the campaign.

The Tigers lead the overall series against NC State 59-28-1 and have won the last eight matchups in the Textile Bowl dating back to 2012. All Tiger fans remember the crazy 24-17 overtime win Clemson had over the Wolfpack back in 2016 inside of Memorial Stadium, with the Wolfpack missing a last-second, game-winning field goal with less than a minute left to send the game to the extra period.

NC State head coach Dave Doeren is beginning his ninth season there after taking over in 2013. Doeren had a pair of back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2017 and 2018 but took the step back in 2019, including a blowout loss to Clemson at home that November, 55-10, the schools' last meeting.

North Carolina State does not have the easiest non-conference schedule to open the season, welcoming former Clemson offensive coordinator Jeff Scott and the USF Bulls into Carter-Finley Stadium to open the season. The Wolfpack have a short turnaround before heading out to Mississippi State in year two of the Mike Leach experiment. Week three sees another Palmetto State program head to Raleigh when the Furman Paladins cross the state line. We could easily see NC State with a 2-1 or 1-2 record when the Tigers come to town.

Wolfpack fans are hopeful that 2021 is a season that Doeren and his staff can build on 2020's winning campaign, with NC State's best two recruiting classes in their third and fourth year on campus (26th nationally in 2018, 32nd in 2019 according to 247Sports).

NC State Offense

The Wolfpack offense averaged 30 points per game last season and 380 yards of offense. It was not a very balanced offense though, with a heavy dose of the yardage coming through the air (260 per game) compared to the ground (122).

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary leads the way under center, his third season entering fall camp as QB1. In his career, Leary has posted a 52% completion rate and has thrown for 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions and 2,100 yards. Leary appeared in the first seven games of last season before a season-ending leg injury against Duke in October.

NC State is hopeful they can get more production out of their running backs this year, and it could possibly have one of the best one-two punches in the conference with Zonovan "Bam" Knight and Ricky Person Jr., who both rushed for over 600 yards last season.

Brent Venables and his secondary could have their hands full with the NC State passing attack, with Leary getting both his top targets back who both were viable options during breakout seasons last year with over five touchdown catches each (Emeka Emezie - 738 yards/5 TDs; Thayer Thomas - 529 yards/6 TDs).

NC State Defense

The North Carolina State defense was well, subpar, at times during the 2020 season. When linebacker Payton Wilson was healthy and on the field for Doeren last season, the defense was a force to reckon with. Wilson led the ACC in tackles (108) and against Duke finished the game with 19 total tackles.

The defense let up an average of 29 points and 415 yards per game. NC State was top-15 in the nation in sacks with 32 last season and also was top-30 with 10 interceptions. The weak point came against the rush, giving up more than 280 yards on the ground in three out of their four losses.

The secondary is the strong point of the defense for third-year coordinator Tony Gibson with multiple members of the back-seven returning to play in Raleigh. The trio of safety Tanner Ingle, nickel Tyler Baker-Williams and corner Cecil Powell all bring much-needed experience to the defensive side of the ball for the Wolfpack.

Prediction

This could be an interesting game for both teams. Clemson will most certainly enter with a 3-0 or 2-1 record in its first true road game of the season. As mentioned earlier, the Wolfpack won’t have the easiest start of their season and could enter the game looking for a statement win early in the season.

The Tigers may still be looking for that reliable RB1 option coming into the game, with three to even four backs splitting time next to DJ Uiagalelei. The California native could well be on his way to Heisman Trophy consideration at this time of the season, so a big game in the first road test could really help the sophomore.

Clemson and Dabo Swinney are going to get NC State's best shot, which is like most every game for the highly-ranked Tigers. This one will come down to if the Tigers can get the run game going. The read-option with the ability of Uiagalelei to tuck the ball and pick up the yards with his legs could really play into the opening drive for Clemson on offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, Venables' Tiger defense should be flying around the field at this point of the season. A defense that returns all but one starter with players subbing in who proved themselves last season is going to be offensive coordinators' nightmares around the ACC.

If the running game against the big boys of Bryan Bresee, Tyler Davis and Myles Murphy doesn’t work for Doeren, he will have to rely on Leary passing on a back-seven that will be airtight led by Nolan Turner and Andrew Booth.

Final Score: Clemson 42, NC State 13