Things are just continuing to get worse for the NC State Wolfpack who lost a third consecutive conference game, falling 24-17 to the Syracuse Orange Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Turnovers, penalties, dropped passes, missed throws and more spelled defeat for the Pack as they continue to search for that first ACC win of the season.
With the loss, the Wolfpack (3-4, 0-3 ACC) fall below 0.500 and are off to their worst start under 12th year coach Dave Doeren since his first season with the program despite many having pegged the Pack as a potential ACC frontrunner.
The Wolfpack did enough to make it close, with two scores in the fourth quarter, but in true NC State fashion, it was too little too late against the Orange (5-1, 2-1 ACC).
“I’m proud of how our guys finished,” Doeren said. “We were down but to see them come back like that shows me that they have a lot of fight. So I am proud of them for coming back and fighting and giving us a chance to have a one possession game there down the stretch.”
The biggest difference in the game was the lopsided turnover margin as NC State committed three and forced a grand total of zero.
“The most important thing on the whole field is the ball,” Doeren said. “There’s a reason they named the game after it. We’re not coveting the ball enough on offense. … That’s the game.”
What’s even worse for the Pack is that each turnover was preceded by a nice drive well into Syracuse territory.
Sophomore running back Kendrick Raphael was stripped at the Syracuse 21 in the second quarter, then in the third quarter, freshman quarterback CJ Bailey fumbled at the Syracuse 27 after absorbing a blindside sack and on the ensuing drive, Bailey was picked off at the Syracuse 21 after his pass attempt went off the hands of Raphael.
And every time NC State turned it over, the Orange turned it into a touchdown.
“We lost because of three turnovers,” Doeren said. “All three different, but all three costly. You’d hope that you’d at least get nine points from three trips into the redzone, but we came up with zero on all three trips and when you lose by one score, that obviously dictates the outcome of the game.”
While you can say the defense wasn’t able to do enough against Kyle McCord who threw for nearly 350 yards and two touchdowns, it’s hard to expect them to stay on top of their game when they were constantly on the field.
Syracuse dominated the time of possession with over 13 more minutes of offensive time than the Wolfpack, making 76 plays compared to NC State’s 45.
The Pack actually managed to hold Syracuse below the majority of its offensive averages and kept the Orange to just 8-for-15 on third-down and 1-for-3 on fourth-down conversions, but nobody in that locker room is going to be satisfied with that.
“Was it good enough? No,” Doeren said. “We expect to be better.”
However, it was more so the offense who was once again the biggest disappointment.
Despite the Wolfpack putting together 411 yards of total offense, they only managed 17 points and went 1-for-6 on third-down conversions.
“We’re getting better,” Doeren said. “I think the chemistry between the quarterback and his receivers is improving. There are some positives and there were some positives last week, we’re just not getting the satisfaction of the win from these because we’re just beating ourselves too much. That has to get fixed, whether it’s a costly penalty or a turnover.
“The fastest way to lose a game is to beat yourself and we’ve been pretty good at not beating ourselves over the last four seasons and this year, we have to get back to it. This team will continue to work and continue to get better. There’s some good young players and we have to let them mature and play for their quarterback.”
Bailey was also hot and cold, putting up some really good numbers, but also turning the ball over twice and missing on a few key throws.
“Some good, some bad,” Doeren said on his quarterback. “I thought he made some good throws but he also missed a couple. He made some plays for us. I know he’s taking this hard because of the fumble he had on the blindside hit, but I don’t put that on him. The other one, he was definitely off the mark.”
Overall though, the true freshman had a good game, as he was 17-for-24 for 329 yards and two scores while also leading the team in rushing yards with 28.
The young quarterback is going to make mistakes, but it’s beyond clear that his development is critical for the Wolfpack’s future.
“CJ is doing a lot of good things as a true freshman,’ Doeren said. “I’m excited about him, not down on him. He’s going to get better and better each week. Guys around him have to make plays for him like they did in the fourth quarter, just need more of them.”
It’s also clear that the run game – which picked up just 82 yards – just isn’t cutting it this season for the Wolfpack.
The Orange entered this game 64th in the country in run defense, allowing 136.6 yards per game and the Pack still couldn’t break through in that area.
Grad transfer Jordan Waters has not been as advertised so far and he once again was at the bottom of the stat sheet.
But big picture, if the Wolfpack hope to get anything out of this season, it’s going to need more from everyone.
From the players to the coaching staff, everyone needs to be pulling on that same rope and putting each other in the best positions to succeed.
Otherwise, this season is going to keep getting more and more painful.
