NC State football stuck in ACC cellar after losing at home to Syracuse, 24-17
Dressed in all-black uniforms, N.C. State players gave high-fives to fans as they entered the locker room Saturday. But instead of a celebratory line, the players’ body language made the typical post-game event look more like a funeral procession as the team lost its second straight game this season and the second consecutive loss to Syracuse.
The Wolfpack fell to the Orange at Carter-Finley Stadium, 24-17, and moved to 0-3 in ACC play — its worst start since 2014. N.C. State is tied with North Carolina for last in the conference.
N.C. State (3-4, 0-3 ACC) kept things close with Syracuse (5-1, 2-1 ACC) through the first half, trailing by three points at halftime. The Orange jumped out to a 17-point lead in the third, but the Pack tried to claw back. Noah Rogers scored his first touchdown as a Wolfpack player, grabbing a 75-yard pass from quarterback CJ Bailey midway through the fourth quarter.
Its defense, however, deserves a lot of the credit for keeping things close and giving the offense scoring opportunities.
Syracuse entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation for passing yards (369.0 yards per game), No. 27 in scoring offense (35.8 points per game) and No. 5 in third-down conversion percentage (.550).
While Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord made plenty of tough plays, the Wolfpack defenders did their best to make him work for them. The Orange converted on its first four third-down opportunities and finished 8 of 15, but the defensive effort held the visitors under their scoring and passing yard averages.
N.C. State recorded nine quarterback hurries, eight tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and four pass breakups. Linebacker Sean Brown contributed a drive-ending deflection, leading to a turnover on downs. Defensive end Travali Price sacked McCord in the second quarter, and a missed Syracuse field goal ended the drive.
Its defensive effort continued after the intermission, forcing another turnover on downs in the fourth quarter. The offense took another step forward, but some mistakes hurt its progression, so the team needed a bend-don’t-break defense to prevent a blowout.
The Orange finished with 424 total yards, including 346 through the air, and 5.6 yards per play. The Pack ended the evening with 411 yards, 329 passing, and 9.1 yards per play.
Head coach Dave Doeren thanked the crowd for its investment and support during the game.
Linebacker Devon Betty isn’t taking much credit, though.
“It’s a team game. An L is a L on everybody, and a W is a W on everybody,” Betty said. “Obviously you want to take the good things from the game and use it in the next game. But, also, you want to learn from the mistakes you made from this past game and just move forward.”
Here are three takeaways in the loss:
Offense continues to show promise
N.C. State’s offense received plenty of preseason hype, its transfer pickups and impressive freshmen recruits expected to light up the scoreboard. That didn’t happen. But, under the leadership of Bailey, the Wolfpack has finally started to find its identity.
The Pack walked off the field at halftime down by three points. It recorded 177 yards of total offense, 131 coming through the air. Wide receiver KC Concepcion highlighted the effort with a 42-yard reception — his longest of the season — that put N.C. State on the Syracuse 22-yard line. The team capitalized on the opportunity, thanks in large part to an Orange penalty, when Bailey found tight end Justin Joly for a 14-yard touchdown.
Hollywood Smothers rushed for 10 yards on second down to extend the first drive of the second half. Then Joly added another huge catch in the second half and gained 25 yards on a fourth-and-12 play.
Tight end Dante Daniels leaped over Clarence Lewis to pick up a first down, too.
N.C. State finished with 329 passing yards to eight different receivers. Smothers and Noah Rogers finished with at least 95 all-purpose yards. It added nine explosive plays to provide momentum throughout the contest.
“The chemistry between the quarterback and his receivers is improving,” Doeren said. “He saw an explosive play for Noah. That was a great job by him getting back in bounds after the reroute. I thought Hollywood sparked the offense, and we needed a spark. KC, we got him involved. Justin Joly continues to make plays.”
Its performance built on the positives in Week 6 against Wake Forest. The Wolfpack finished with one of its best performances of the season, with eight different receivers contributing at least two catches. The players fought for extra yardage, its effort passing the eye test in a way it hadn’t in previous weeks.
That had been the plan all season, but things never fully clicked. Finally, things are looking up on that side of the ball — at least a little bit.
Turnovers stop Wolfpack momentum
N.C. State made plenty of positive plays on offense, but a trio of turnovers significantly hurt the progress made on previous plays.
Running back Kendrick Raphael rushed for a gain of 15 yards in the second quarter, but he fumbled the football and Syracuse recovered.
In the third quarter, the Wolfpack picked up 54 total yards, including a 28-yard quarterback rush by Bailey. The drive, however, ended when Bailey was sacked by David Omopariola — offensive lineman Anthony Belton missing the blitz — and fumbled the football. Once again, Syracuse recovered.
The Wolfpack ended the third quarter with an interception. Bailey targeted Raphael on the pass but Syracuse’s Justin Barron picked off the freshman QB and returned the ball for 41 yards.
Though N.C. State made positive plays, Doeren said the turnovers were the biggest factor in the loss.
“We lost because the three turnovers going in to score —all three different, but all three costly,” Doeren said. “We would hope that you’d at least get nine. Three trips into the red zone and come up with zero on all three trips. You lose by one score. Obviously, that dictates the outcome of the game.
“We’re undefeated in the last five years when we win the turnover margin. Talk about it every week, and the guys know it. We’ve got to do a better job believing it. It’s the most important thing on the whole field; the ball. There’s a reason they named the game after it, and we’re not coveting the ball enough on offense.”
Wolfpack special teams do little to help
N.C. State’s struggles on special teams continued against the Orange, making things that much more difficult for the offense and defense.
Kicker Kanoah Vinesett missed a 41-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter that would’ve tied the game 3-3. He ultimately made a 29-yard attempt with 1:32 remaining in the game, but it came too late.
The Wolfpack punted just once, but Caden Noonkester’s kick was only 39 yards and put Syracuse on its own 44-yard line.
While these are little things, every play matters when the season — and the team’s goals — are slipping from grasp.
“The fastest way to lose a game is to beat yourself. Been pretty good at that around here of not beating ourselves over the last four seasons. This year, we’ve got to get back to it,” Doeren said. “This team will continue to work. They’ll continue to get better, and there’s some good young players, so we’ve gotta let those guys mature and play for their quarterback.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2024 at 7:50 PM with the headline "NC State football stuck in ACC cellar after losing at home to Syracuse, 24-17."
