Wolfpack shows strength on lines
North Carolina State has been hindered with injuries at some skill positions, but in the meantime the Wolfpack has learned how to make a difference at the line of scrimmage.
That has been a key for the nationally ranked team, which will have to display durability as well with a Thursday night game against visiting Wake Forest.
It’s a quick turnaround, but the Wolfpack has the mentality that doing the job in the trenches is something to build on.
“They’re coming here and we have to play them, but they also have to play us,” center Garrett Bradbury said.
N.C. State (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) recovered from its only two losses of the season by drilling visiting Florida State 47-28 on Saturday. That puts the Wolfpack bowl eligible for the fifth consecutive season.
Florida State’s defense had been stingy against the rush, but the Wolfpack’s play on the line created for some big running lanes. Running back Reggie Gallaspy gained 106 yards on the ground, while running back Ricky Person scored two rushing touchdowns and another on a reception. That also correlated to better protection for quarterback Ryan Finley, who wasn’t sacked.
“We all took it a little personally. We thought we got (Finley) hit a little too much (against Syracuse),” Bradbury said.
“Obviously, we’ve heard about that all week from coaches, from media, from everyone. … It makes just everything a lot more fun, to be honest, as an offensive lineman when you can just at-will drive down the field, run the ball and they know it’s coming most of the time.
“Obviously it helps the passing game out a ton, so the secondary (is) not just sitting waiting for the pass, they’ve got to be honest.”
On the other side, the Wolfpack limited Florida State to 24 rushing yards.
“On both sides of the ball. I thought we dominated the line of scrimmage,” Finley said. “Our D-line just lived in the backfield. Our offensive linemen played really, really well.”
The Wolfpack is banged up to some degree on the defensive front. To compensate, senior Darian Roseboro shifted from defensive end to the interior of the defensive front for the Florida State game and more adjustments could be made with the Wake Forest game coming on a short week.
N.C. State (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) can still finish as high as a tie for first place in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, though it wouldn’t win a tiebreak to reach the league’s championship game.
The matchup with Wake Forest is a Senior Night game for N.C. State as it was the last scheduled home game. But now the team will play another home game because after a September hurricane-related cancellation of a game against West Virginia. The Wolfpack have added a Dec. 1 home game vs. East Carolina.