What to watch for as NC State football hosts UConn; injury update for Pack players

Chip Alexander

Everyone from Dave Doeren to Devin Leary to Tim Beck to Payton Wilson says it’s not so much N.C. State playing Connecticut this week as N.C. State vs N.C. State.

As Beck, the offensive coordinator, put it, “The game is really us against us and us being the best us we can be.”

And not just for the UConn game Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. That has been the Wolfpack football mission this season — regardless of the opponent, be the best version of N.C. State on that day.

The defense, with Wilson one of the leaders at linebacker, came pretty close last week in the Pack’s 27-14 win over Texas Tech. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson called it an “elite effort,” saying the Pack was “flying to the football, with a lot of people there gang-tackling.”

The flip side: Beck said the Pack offense is still experiencing “growing pains” as it works its way through the early part of the season.

“Every part of our game, from finishing blocks, route running, reading coverage, whatever it may be, we’ve got to be consistent and keep improving,” Beck said.

Leary said much the same Tuesday when the quarterback talked about the offense. It’s a matter of consistency, of stringing together good plays, of playing longer stretches of mistake-free football — Beck said the Pack had three penalties in its first 11 plays Saturday.

“What we have to do better is we have to focus and eliminate penalties and turnovers,” Beck said. “We have to do that, because those things are going to kill us.

“I’m confident in our players’ playmaking ability and what we’re doing. I think we’ll be OK. I don’t have any doubt in my mind where we’ll end up being.”

N.C. State wide receiver Thayer Thomas (5) gets by East Carolina long snapper Colby Garfield (43) on a 18-yard punt return during the second half of N.C. State’s 21-20 victory over ECU at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022.
N.C. State wide receiver Thayer Thomas (5) gets by East Carolina long snapper Colby Garfield (43) on a 18-yard punt return during the second half of N.C. State’s 21-20 victory over ECU at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022.

What to watch for Saturday

The Pack is a 39-point favorite over the Huskies (1-3) and a lot of guys might get on the field, much like the Charleston Southern game. Other things to watch for:

▪ Another Thayer Thomas pass. The versatile slot receiver had four career TD passes after his 38-yarder to Demie Sumo-Karngbaye last week.

▪ Devin Carter getting more targets. The wideout, a redshirt junior, has four catches this season and has been a forgotten man in the offense. The Pack needs Carter more involved.

▪ Maybe Leary being a target, again. The Pack’s trick play worked last week … but didn’t count. Thomas connected with Leary in the end zone but the play was wiped out by a penalty. The Pack might try again.

▪ Aydan White did some serious ball-hawking last week, the cornerback picking off two Texas Tech passes and going 84 yards on a pick-6. The Pack D has seven interceptions, tied for second nationally, and will be after more.

Injury update

Doeren said Thursday that running back Jordan Houston and nickel Tyler Baker-Williams, both injured in the Texas Tech game, were “day-to-day” and did not say what their status would be for the UConn game. ...

Doeren spent time this week visiting an injured player in the hospital — linebacker Bryce Ramirez of Texas Tech. Ramirez suffered a broken leg in the game and underwent surgery at WakeMed, where he has been hospitalized this week until being released Thursday to return home.

Doeren and a few staff members visited Ramirez and gave him a poster signed by the Wolfpack players, and a beaming Ramirez later tweeted out a photo.

“If my son was in the same situation in another city, I would hope someone would do that for him, for my son,” Doeren said Thursday. “I felt it was something I could do to help him in a tough moment. A really uplifting young man. You go in there and he’s got a smile on his face after his second surgery.

“Sometimes, you get an opportunity, no matter what we do, to help somebody else. I felt like that was an opportunity to do that.”

How to watch

The game, which has a 7:30 p.m. start, will be televised regionally by Bally Sports South, with Evan Lepler handling the play-by-play, James Bates the analysis and Lauren Jbara as the sideline reporter. It’s also available on the Bally Sports app streaming service.

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