N.C. State Football: West Virginia Preview
The Wolfpack heads to Morgantown for its biggest non-conference match-up of the season.
Who: N.C. State Wolfpack (2-0) at West Virginia Mountaineers (1-1)
When: Saturday September 14, 2019 – 12:00 P.M. EST
Where: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
TV channel: FS1
Live stream: Fubo TV
Line: N.C. State -6.5
Weather: Sunny, 80°at kickoff
Last Week:
N.C. State pummeled Western Carolina 41-0
West Virginia was beat 38-7 by Missouri
One Player to Watch on West Virginia:
Junior Defensive Lineman Darius Stills – Four tackles, three TFL, three sacks
Stills collected two sacks against Missouri, giving him three for the year. Against a banged up Wolfpack offensive line, Stills could become a nightmare in the Wolfpack backfield. He played in all 12 games last season, but it appears he’s prime for a breakout season this year.
The story of Darius and Dante Stills just keeps getting better.
— Nick Farrell (@ByNickFarrell) September 1, 2019
Exactly a year ago, they shared the field with @WVUfootball for the first time. They spent yesterday blowing up plays in the JMU backfield.
The tandem combined for nine tackles, two sacks and a blocked FG. pic.twitter.com/oQOTF9Qvfq
If N.C. State Wins:
The Wolfpack will have cleared the only hurdle on its non-conference schedule. The Wolfpack needs to win this game and it needs the Mountaineers to make noise in the Big 12, as it would go far for the team’s perception moving forward.
If N.C. State Loses:
It would be a bad look for N.C. State after the Mountaineers were crushed by Missouri last weekend. The Mountaineers have struggled with turnovers, time of possession and even basic things like running the football. This is not the same West Virginia team that won eight games last season behind Will Grier’s magic arm. The Wolfpack would be missing a massive opportunity with a loss.
Prediction:
The Wolfpack and head coach Dave Doeren need this win. Here is the list of out-of-conference victories that NC State has collected under Doeren: Louisiana Tech, Richmond, Central Michigan, Georgia Southern, USF (they went 4-8 that year), Presbyterian, Troy, Eastern Kentucky, South Alabama, Old Dominion, William & Mary, Notre Dame (4-8 that year), Marshall, Furman, James Madison, Georgia State and East Carolina.
West Virginia might end up landing in the same boat as Notre Dame…a win over a big time program in a down year. But that won’t be Doeren’s fault. Losing will. This will be a good test for quarterback Matt McKay and the Wolfpack offense, as well as the much-maligned Wolfpack secondary. Give me N.C. State in a barnburner.