NC State football vs. UConn report card: Why coaching kept the Wolfpack from straight A's
RALEIGH — NC State moved to 4-0 on the season with a 41-10 win over UConn on Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The victory sets up next week’s showdown between the No. 12 Wolfpack and No. 5 Clemson.
Here's how we graded each phase of the Wolfpack's win over the Huskies.
Offense: A
The question entering Saturday’s game was whether the offense had big play ability in its arsenal. The Wolfpack went about answering that question on the first play of the game as quarterback Devin Leary with Thayer Thomas for a 75-yard touchdown pass.
They scored 31 points in the first half and Leary completed 25 of 32 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns but did throw his second interception of the season late in the second quarter that led to UConn’s field goal.
The junior quarterback completed 32 of 44 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns before being replaced with 9:55 left in the fourth quarter by backup Jack Chambers. The offense finished with 481 total yards, 28 first downs and was led on the ground by true freshman running back Michael Allen, who finished with 63 yards and nine attempts all in the second half.
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Defense: A+
UConn's offense had no answers for NC State's tenacious defense.
The Wolfpack held the Huskies to just over 100 total yards and a handful of first downs. UConn had 37 yards on its first drive and was held without another until early in the fourth quarter. The Huskies scored on their final drive with 2:08 left to play. Drake Thomas led the team with six tackles and the defense combined for five tackles for a loss and one forced fumble from lineman Davin Vann.
Special Teams: A-
Special teams were efficient as usual, but kicker Chris Dunn did fail to convert on a fake field goal kick that was stopped short of a first down. Dunn, who was shaken up after the failed fake, hit his only field goal attempt before being replaced by punter Collin Smith. Smith hit a 40-yarder to extend the lead to 41-3 and also missed a 47-yarder with 6:43 left in the game.
Coaching: B-
It’s hard to find much fault in a blowout win, but the fake field goal attempt in the third quarter was questionable at best. Why show that play before facing Clemson, and worse, risk getting Dunn hurt in the process? He appeared to be shaken up after the hit and did not return. There's also a question about how much Leary played in the second half with the game well in hand. Did he really need those extra throws late in the third quarter and into the fourth?
Overall: A-
Saturday was an obvious precursor to next week’s showdown against Clemson and NC State took care of business against an overmatched opponent.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State football vs. UConn report card: Why coaching kept the Wolfpack from straight A's
