The NC State Wolfpack Weathered The Game and The Storm
The NC State Wolfpack played their first game at Carter-Finley Stadium tonight after a 90-minute weather delay early in the 2nd quarter, but that didn’t stop them from winning a stunning 73-0 shutout against the Richmond Spiders. Coach Dave Doeren congratulated the fans in a press conference following the game: “I am thankful to the fans that came back; it means a lot because we need this place packed. We need it packed every game.”
This was a ground-and-pound, physical football game for the Wolfpack. With strong interior play, the offensive line led the way, opening holes for the running backs and even the quarterbacks. “When you win the line of scrimmage, everything on offense works, and we were all set to dominate today,” Coach Doeren mentioned postgame. The Wolfpack had 10 rushers totaling 45 attempts and 428 rushing yards, resulting in 8 touchdowns. Jayden Scott took the majority of the snaps from the running back position, with 9 attempts, 128 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Scott had this to say following the win: “No matter who was back there, they all went to work. The biggest thing that changed was we had a point to prove, having that mindset, that chip on our shoulder, to do better than the Virginia game.” At quarterback, CJ Bailey and Will Wilson shared the load, with Wilson taking over goal-line and wildcat formations while Bailey thrived by scrambling out of the pocket.
Defensively, the Wolfpack held the Spiders scoreless through all four quarters, showing great communication and togetherness. Cornerback Brian Nelson II commented on the defensive success tonight: “We feel like we learned to pay attention to the little details; little details ultimately will help us win and have a great outcome like today.” The message was clear today: following last week’s 34-8 loss to Virginia, the defense needed to step up, and they did. Nelson continued, saying, “We definitely needed this win, definitely needed some momentum in the locker room, just to get our confidence back. We know we are a great team; we know we are good, just believing that for the rest of the season.”
Next for the NC State Wolfpack, they will head to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores next week. Coach Doeren had this to say: “It’s not about who you play; it’s about how you play, and I wanted to see them execute for four quarters and continue to play with that energy and level of fun that we played with, and that’s really critical.” Let’s see if NC State can build on this moment and keep playing at this level on both sides of the ball.