Game To Watch: #10 NC State at #5 Clemson: October 1, 2022

NC State makes the trip to Clemson for a key ACC contest this Saturday at 7:30 EST. The Wolfpack are undefeated and have hit their stride a bit after a close call in the season opener against East Carolina. The Tigers also kept their undefeated season going with an overtime win at Wake Forest. NC State and Clemson are the two highest ranked teams in the conference, making this a critical game on the road to the ACC Championship.

Recent History

Clemson has controlled the all time series going 59 – 29 – 1 and had won eight in a row before NC State’s 27 – 21 home win a year ago. The Wolfpack broke Clemson’s winning streak but have not had a winning streak of their own against Clemson since 2002 – 2003. Clemson has won 15 of the last 17 between the two teams, with ten of those wins coming by double digits.

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What To Watch For…

NC State’s Defense Will Be Tough to Score on

Clemson’s offense is certainly playing better than they were a year ago, but the Tigers have yet to face a good defense. The NC State defense will be the toughest one Clemson has faced and could be one of the best in college football. While the NC State defense has not faced any offensive juggernauts yet, they do appear to be a strong unit that will be tough to move the ball against on Saturday.

The Wolfpack are tied for eighth in the country allowing just 11.8 points per game and are 12th in yards per play against (4.25 ypp). The defense has been strong against the run and the pass ranking in the top ten nationally in yards per carry against and yards per pass attempt against. There is no easy plan to attacking the NC State defense. The Wolfpack have a strong defensive front, feature two of the best linebackers in college football and a secondary that comes up with plenty of turnovers. Clemson’s offense may be playing better than a year ago, but the NC State defense looks to be better as well.

Did Wake Forest Provide a Game-plan for Attacking Clemson?

Clemson’s defense is no slouch either, the Tigers are perennially among the best in college football on the defensive side of the ball. They have as much talent up front as any team in the country and are able to generate pressure and create negative plays. While the defense had been playing well the first three weeks of the season, Wake Forest was able to throw the ball very effectively last week and put up 45 points on the Tigers.

It remains to be seen if NC State can follow a similar formula to success this week. The Wolfpack do have a talented quarterback capable of orchestrating a similar plan of attack, but they have not had the explosive plays or consistency from the receiver position to take advantage of his abilities. As a result they have struggled to make big plays downfield and may not be able to effectively attack the Clemson defense the way Wake Forest did last week. Nonetheless, it’s apparent that the weakness of the Clemson defense, if there is one, is against the pass. The Wolfpack need to find weapons that can make big plays in the passing game, so they can put the pressure on Clemson’s offense to score.

Is DJ Uiagalelei Hitting His Stride?

One of the big shockers of last season was the ineffectiveness of Clemson quarterback, DJ Uiagalelei. After backing up Trevor Lawrence for a season and shining in spot duty when Lawrence was out, the expectation was that Uiagalelei would flourish as a starter. That did not happen in 2021, he only averaged six yards per pass attempt and threw more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (9). So far in 2022, Uiagalelei has been attempting to erase the memory of last season’s struggles and prove he is the quarterback pundits thought he would be.

While the competition has not been particularly stiff defensively, Uiagalelei has already thrown more touchdown passes than he did a year ago and only has one interception in four games. His yards per attempt are up to eight yards per attempt and he has been able to lead the offense to a 43.8 points per game average. There are signs that the Clemson quarterback has turned the corner, but this weekend will be a big test for him. A strong performance Saturday would go a long way towards easing the concerns last season raised.

Prediction

Emotions are going to be high in this match-up between the two highest ranked teams in the conference. We are expecting the defenses to assert themselves early. The team that is able to string together a couple of good drives and capitalize with points will put pressure on the other offense and give themselves an advantage. The game will be another tight one, but we expect Devin Leary to make enough plays to get a lead and hold on for the win. NC State 27 Clemson 24.

B18I8600 image taken by TigerNet.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

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