(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
To get a better understanding of Syracuse football’s next opponent, we sitdown with NC State play-by-play voice Gary Hahn on ITLH.
The Syracuse football team was close in Baton Rouge but couldn’t get the job done. They’ll try to pick up the pieces on another road trip this time to Raleigh, North Carolina. It won’t be easy against a NC State team that upset the No. 12 ranked Florida State Seminoles last Saturday.
It also happens to be the Orange’s ACC opener in Week 5 to kick off the second quarter of their season. Head coach of the Orange Dino Babers has been glowing in his praise of the Wolfpack in conversations with the media.
This front seven will be one of the best the Cuse faces all season long on Saturday afternoon. A few mistakes the Orange made last week that they’ll have to correct include: lack of running game, giving away points, dropping passes, etc.
If one or two of those things change, SU is undefeated right now and possibly ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in 16 years. While before the season started no one would’ve considered NC State as a skin game, it’d be a nice one to have. Without further adieu time to breakdown the Wolfpack.
Paul A. Esden Jr. (@BoyGreen25):
This has been an up and down season for the Wolfpack, but last week looked a lot more up than down. How are things going for NC State?
Gary Hahn (@PackFootball):
Things are looking pretty good. Just knocked off the No. 12 team in America and finally broke
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through the glass ceiling. Last year NC State should’ve beaten the eventual National Champion Clemson Tigers but missed a chip shot at the end of the game. They also had Florida State by the throat last year and dropped a game sealing interception in the end zone. It was good not only for the season but for the morale of the team to say hey we’re good enough, after last week’s win.
They needed that, especially after the season opener against South Carolina where they let the opening kickoff go for a touchdown and they were never able to recover. Since then NC State has done some really good things. The Wolfpack haven’t allowed a fourth quarter touchdown all year. If you look at last week, FSU got into the red zone six times and only came away with one touchdown.
State’s also done a good job against the run. FSU only ended up with around 100 yards rushing in that game. So overall they’ve had a defense that has performed very well. The other key is that the offense isn’t turning the ball over.
Paul A. Esden Jr. (@BoyGreen25):
There’s been a lot of hype around NC State’s front seven since the offseason. We know that the unit is led by Bradley Chubb, but talk about some of the other pieces.
Gary Hahn (@PackFootball):
It’s really good because they rotate eight guys and there’s not a lot of drop off. You’ve got Kentavius Street on one side and Bradley Chubb lined up on the other. Chubb is going to be playing on Sundays there’s no doubt about it. I won’t say he was a one-man wrecking crew last week but he was pretty close. He had seven tackles, two sacks, forced a fumble, and the opposing Florida State left tackle last week had at least three motion penalties on him because he couldn’t handle Chubb.
Behind Street is Darian Roseboro who is every bit as good as Street. While on the inside you have BJ Hill and Justin Jones. They both have a chance to play on Sundays too. Behind them are another pair of youngsters who are vastly talented as well. So there’s not a lot of drop off with talent between their first and second units.
But understanding what Syracuse brings to the table, the Wolfpack are going to have to rotate early and often to keep up with the warp speed of Orange is the New Fast.
Paul A. Esden Jr. (@BoyGreen25):
Bradley Chubb is a superstar on the field, there’s no question about it, but there was some controversy after the game was over. Chubb ran to midfield and spit on the Seminoles logo at midfield. When HC for the Orange Dino Babers was asked about that he related it to energy and said he likes the passion of the young man, did the NC State coaching staff feel the same way?
Gary Hahn (@PackFootball):
He just made a bad decision. He made a bad decision and he owned up to after the game and apologized for it. Basically he’s moving on from it and I don’t think there’s much to add to it other than that. When guys aren’t used to winning sometimes you get caught up in the moment. You break through the glass ceiling and you kind of just do things and go brain dead. That clearly wasn’t appropriate and I think that’s the best explanation for it.
Since he’s off social media this season, Bradley Chubb asked us to post this: ‘I want to apologize for my actions after the game today...’
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 23, 2017
‘... I let my emotions get the best of me. I have the utmost respect for Coach Fisher and Florida State.’
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 23, 2017
Paul A. Esden Jr. (@BoyGreen25):
Gary, NC State has scored on its’ first offensive possession all four games of this season. While defensively the Wolfpack hasn’t given up a touchdown in the fourth quarter yet this season. That sounds like a winning recipe, tell us what’s the secret sauce?
Gary Hahn (@PackFootball):
Well it’s hard to pinpoint any one thing. Sometimes things happen and sometimes things don’t. Heading into this season that was one of the major points of emphasis. Starting fast and closing strong. Easier said than done but the Wolfpack has been able to execute that strategy.
Last season NC State would often not get the engine going until deep in the second quarter and you can’t do that consistently and be successful. So that’s definitely been one thing that has been impressive this season.
Another thing is that run defense. Last year NC State was top-10, this year they’re No. 11. If you can’t stop the run in college football you’re going to be in rough shape. All of that is led though by this impressive front seven.
Ultimately this secret sauce comes down to a handful of ingredients: stopping the run and getting to a better start offensively. Those are the two biggies and so far this season the Wolfpack has gotten it done.
Paul A. Esden Jr. (@BoyGreen25):
Talk about your quarterback Ryan Finley. He currently boasts the nation’s active streak for consecutive pass attempts without an interception. What can you attribute this progression from last season to this season?
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Gary Hahn (@PackFootball):
Well I think he knows his teammates a little bit better. He’s added weight and strength. Overall he’s just really more mature. He played really well last season, but by the end of it the offensive line didn’t’ really protect him well. He threw some bad interceptions but it was the result of a lot of different things.
This season though, when healthy, this is one of the better offensive lines around. He does a really good job of getting the ball to the right people. Ice water in his veins, he doesn’t get rattled. Finley is a very smart player and he manages the game well and that’s all NC State asks him to do. He never is asked to win the game, he just has to avoid the critical mistakes. Finley does a fantastic job at that.