And In That Corner ... Notre Dame faces first road test against the North Carolina State Wolfpack
No. 10 Notre Dame (2-0) heads out on its first road game on Saturday, facing North Carolina State (12 ET on ABC) at a proverbial house of horrors for Irish quarterback Sam Hartman. The sixth-year veteran played in Raleigh twice while with Wake Forest, losing both games and throwing three interceptions last year.
“There’s no overlooking here,” Hartman said of the coming trip only moments after Notre Dame beat Tennessee State, 56-3, last weekend. “I understand the challenge, we understand the challenge at hand, especially on the road.
“I played there last year. It’s a very hostile environment, their fans are going to bring it, they’re not going to like us. We understand there’s a huge challenge.”
To better understand that challenge, let’s turn to Jadyn Watson-Fisher, the new North Carolina State beat writer at The News & Observer in Raleigh.
DF: Thanks for helping me out, Jadyn. I realize you started in Raleigh less than a month ago. Let’s start there.
As an Oklahoma native and grad, if I read your introduction column correctly, coming off some time covering Northern Colorado, what have been your first impressions of North Carolina State?
JWF: My first impressions have been that there’s a bit of inconsistency, but the positive plays we’ve seen have been great. I think there’s a lot of talent that can be honed to be a top team in the ACC this year.
Have you been inundated with references to the 2016 game between these two and Hurricane Matthew yet? If yes, what has been the best anecdote you’ve heard so far? If not, then just trust they will come this weekend.
I actually haven’t really gotten any anecdotes yet!
(Editor’s Note: The deluge of comedic memories likely will begin when the Notre Dame beat writers begin arriving in Raleigh to a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms on Saturday, forecast as of Thursday afternoon.)
The focus this offseason was on North Carolina State’s offense, namely Virginia transfer quarterback Brennan Armstrong and his reunion with Virginia-to-Syracuse-to-NC State offensive coordinator Robert Anae. But before I get to your thoughts there, I should point out the Wolfpack defense struggled in the season opener against UConn. Sure, this might not be the same disastrous Connecticut of years past, but it is still far below North Carolina State’s level. Giving up 5.2 yards per play and allowing 6-of-12 late-down conversions is rather concerning. I had only half an eye on that game on Thursday, but the box score makes it pretty clear the issue was the run defense. UConn’s rush offense was downright average last season. How did it so gash what should be a strong Wolfpack defensive front? Yes, I consider 170 yards on 24 carries (sacks adjusted) to be gashing. 7.1 yards per rush attempt is gashing.
Truthfully, I think some guys were rusty, which led to missed plays. There were some younger guys who had to step into starting roles, as well, which I think may have led to some of those miscues.
Nor do I think the defense was that bad. The coaching staff said the team didn’t adjust well on the first drive — UConn’s scheme included stuff the Pack wasn’t expecting and didn’t prepare for — but it eventually settled in. Plus, if you take away that 71-yard touchdown and it’s 100 yards on 23 carries. That came down to a couple of guys not being in the right spot.
Now that offense. I expected it to try to develop a rhythm in Storrs in order to be more in gear come this weekend. Maybe it tried to do that, but Armstrong threw for only 155 yards, relying on his legs more than his arm (18 rushes for 100 yards and two touchdowns, sacks adjusted). Is this going to be the offense moving forward? Does Anae plan to make this a ground-bound approach?
Truthfully, I’m not sure what Anae’s plan is. He’s a man of few words, but I know he wants more explosive plays going forward. He literally used the word explosive(s) six times in a two-minute media scrum. I think it would be fair to say Anae will try to focus on passing — that’s where he’s been successful — but trust Armstrong to make in-game reads and rush, if necessary.
Dave Doeren is not a fan of the new clock rules.
"We had four TV timeouts per quarter; 16 television timeouts in our game. We're going to be excited about that and take football out of the game. I think it's sad that's what's happened, but it's the way it goes."— Jadyn Adams (@jwatsonfisher) September 4, 2023
That game was too close for anyone to convince me North Carolina State was trying to keep things off film to catch Notre Dame off guard. So, what would the argument be that the Wolfpack is distinctly better than the Huskies? Because Irish fans may be prone to look at that 24-14 score and think NC State is nowhere near the challenge they expected in the preseason.
I think it goes back to the fact that UConn scored on two drives, one of which featured one play. No, the Pack didn’t play its best. I don’t think anyone is delusional enough to say that. It did, however, settle in. It finished with nearly 100 more total yards, finished with 23 first downs to 15, and it showed some early depth. The team forced six punts and didn’t allow the Huskies to attempt a field goal, as well.
Besides, the same argument could be reversed by State fans. Is Notre Dame actually worthy of its ranking or does the level of competition significantly inflate the numbers?
I would also argue that week 1 is not often a full representation of what most teams’ seasons will look like.
Dave Doeren has built a consistently competent program with underrated line play, even if UConn ran through the Wolfpack defense last week and Armstrong was always on the run. Can those lines rebound enough to keep things interesting Saturday? In my mind, that is the biggest question when looking at this 7.5-point spread with a combined point total Over/Under of 51.
What are you expecting Saturday night?
I don’t actually think the O/U is that wild, considering the points put up in previous games between the two teams and the offensive firepower both are expected to have. I would personally take the Under, because I think the two teams are strong enough on offense to score multiple times yet competent on defense to keep things from getting out of control.
Instead, I would expect a game closer to the UConn final score. They’re both excited for the matchup and the level of competition should be a better matchup.
