PREVIEW: NC State Wolfpack at Wake Forest

On Saturday afternoon when NC State (4-2, 0-2) meets Wake Forest (3-4, 1-3) at BB &T Field in Winston-Salem, NC, seasoned Wolfpack fans know the deal. The Pack always has trouble against the Demon Deacons and usually lose in Winston-Salem. You can throw out the records, it doesn’t matter. For some God-awful reason Wake Forest seems to always match up well against the Pack and play their darn hearts out.

With Clemson and Florida State games remaining, the Pack needs to make the best of the winnable games left. Wake Forest is one of those games.

Wake head coach Dave Clawson, in his second season with the Deacons, has a 6-13 overall record and is just 2-10 in the league. Look for Clawson’s team to try and get back on track after being dismantled 50-14 by North Carolina last week in Chapel Hill. The Deacons are averaging 18.9 ppg on offense, but give up 21.7ppg. Defense appears to be a weakness for Wake as it has given up 161.7 yards rushing and 168.9 passing per game.

NC State, after jumping out to a 4-0 record, has cooled significantly, as they have been beaten in consecutive weeks by Louisville and Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack’s senior leader, quarterback Jacoby Brissett has thrown for only 183 and 113 yards in the two losses. During that span, the running game has also been anemic, explaining why NC State’s offense has scored a paltry 13 points in each game.

Note: Currently half of the ACC’s 14 teams: Syracuse (3-3), Wake Forest, Boston College, Virginia Tech (3-4), Louisville, Virginia (2-4) and Georgia Tech (2-5) are at or below .500 at the midway point of the season. The good news is that NC State is not one of them.

Moving forward, Dave Doeren’s Wolfpack still has a chance to fulfill many of the goals that they set at the beginning of the season. A winning record of course is within reach, and the all-important holiday bowl is a real possibility once the team becomes bowl eligible. Beyond that, for the Wolfpack to win the Atlantic Division, they would need improbable losses to occur from Clemson and Florida State.