Topic: What are chances to win and how do we beat NC State?

[Johnnyherd]

Not trying to be captain obvious but I think it's going to take a very clean game by the Herd and maybe  a couple favorable bounces of the football to win this game.  This is likely the toughest team we will play excluding a bowl opponent.

I heard Huff say it's going to take some creativity.  So that's definitely a good thing.  We are going to have to throw better on 3rd down, we have been terrible at throwing on third down.  The last couple games. 

The coaching staff have done an outstanding job of not putting Fancher in spots where he has to throw and we are much more successful running on third than passing, same thing goes in the red zone.  But, that's good coaching, why would you throw the ball in the ref zone and risk a turnover if you have the athletes to run it in.

I think Cam is going to have to do a lot of good running and keep them guessing and move the chains.

Anyone else have thoughts on the game?

[MicDrass1]

Stop the run
Counter their pass rush
Make FGs
Win field position battle
Win turnover battle

[W0lfman]

No cheating refs

[Johnnyherd]

No cheating refs

Wolfman you've got some really close family that are Wolfpack Alumni, right?  How's that going this week? 

[W0lfman]

Daughter over there. She knows I'm not coming to see her with any love for the Wolfpack.

[herdfan129]

We have to limit the STUPID penalties.

Lining up illegally on offense, late hits, etc.

For defense, we need to tackle better.

Offense, we need Cam to continue pulling the ball to make them honor him as a running threat. That should help open up Ali and Payne. This offense will go where Cam takes it. Just take what the defense gives us and be efficient.

[Always THE HERD]

Need more runs by other backs than just Ali.

[Johnnyherd]

This guy has some very good points.  He basically says for NC State will try to make Fancher beat them throwing the ball and get Fancher to turn the ball over.

[svherd]

Trickett needs to open up the playbook. Play action, two TE sets, two RB sets. Roll the pocket, short dink and dunk passes then try one long to catch them sleeping. If the backs can break through the initial point of attack, they should have plenty of green in front of them. I'd throw to the TE's all day. jmho

[Flat Tire 2]

I posted the below on another thread. I meant to put it in this thread.

I don't pick scores but I find it interesting that a few fans are expecting The Herd to beat NCSU on a road game. NCSU spent over $23 Million on the football program while MU spent $34 million on their entire athletic budget. More money should get you better assistant coaches and more money for recruiting.

It is amazing that a much smaller school can occasionally compete with a much larger school. On paper, it should never happen. It doesn't happen very often in the business or real world.

Football unlike other sports like basketball is a numbers game. The more numbers the better your chance is to win.

That said we did upset ND last year when the stars aligned in our favor.  Go Herd!

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/north-carolina-state-university-at-raleigh/student-life/sports/#football
https://www.marshall.edu/news/2022/04/board-of-governors-approves-budget-for-2022-2023/
 

[herdfifteen]

Need more runs by other backs than just Ali.

What happened to Turner , is he injured or being redshirted? He would present a change of pace, I love Payne but he is a grind it out for 3-5 yards a carry type.

[Big City]

Trickett needs to open up the playbook. Play action, two TE sets, two RB sets. Roll the pocket, short dink and dunk passes then try one long to catch them sleeping. If the backs can break through the initial point of attack, they should have plenty of green in front of them. I'd throw to the TE's all day. jmho

Agree SV. This is an all-in kind of game. No reason to hold anything back.

[whf]

We have enough talent to compete and win at NCSU; whether or not we will win depends on the teams' ability to stay in control, trust in themselves, and see themselves as just as capable as their opponent.  This is a mental game, physically and talent wise, there is so little difference that the only thing that will matter is composure, competing, and completing plays.

[ThunderValley]

We would have to score three touchdowns to get credit for one. No way we can go in there and win this game. We all know anout NC State refs.

[herdloyal]

NC State is beatable?.secondary is suspect?..2 TE sets with one of our biggest TEs to take out their lineback and Dline star. We do have the speed and they have to concentrate on Ali which Fancher should be well ware of from game film. Defensively tackle in space and play in control your position and put speed on their QB.

[MCA23]

What happened to Turner , is he injured or being redshirted? He would present a change of pace, I love Payne but he is a grind it out for 3-5 yards a carry type.

Huff said last week that because the games have been down to the wire there hasn't been opportunities for players like Turner.  You have to keep your best and most reliable players on the field.

[CharlestonHerdGuy]

31.3% according to teamrankings.com. 23% according to Massey.

[BigJimslade]

Take NC STATE -6.5

Take NC State outright

Take over 44

BJS

[herdfan93]

No cheating refs

I don't think their refs  have changed much even with play review.  I watched the Ville game and the refs took a td away from them even though the review showed a Ville td.  The refs said the call was an incomplete pass and after review could not be overturned.  I felt sorry for the loserville receiver and cringed because I knew that's what we were going to be in for.

[coloradoherd]

I'm skeptical of this team's consistency, but I remain hopeful. If we beat Notre Dame last year, we can beat anybody. Who knows what team will show up. If the guys come in there extra motivated, it could be another ND type performance.

[Gaylen]

score more points

[coalherd]

I don't think their refs  have changed much even with play review.  I watched the Ville game and the refs took a td away from them even though the review showed a Ville td.  The refs said the call was an incomplete pass and after review could not be overturned.  I felt sorry for the loserville receiver and cringed because I knew that's what we were going to be in for.

Just shows, 93, that the "Zebra Factor" is still a big obstacle visiting teams have to overcome when playing in Raleigh.  Nothing's changed since Jim Donnan's days at MU, apparently!!

[MicDrass1]

Huff?s teams rise to the occasion.  If not cheated Herd wins.

[goherd24]

NC state will sell out to stop the run. Our offensive success will be determined by Fancher and Trickett to both call and execute passes down the field, to force them to back off, and give our running game a chance. If not, we will go 3 and out, A LOT.

On Defense, NC state will attack the defense rushing. We will also need to sell out against the run to have a chance to stop them. Anyone with unbridled confidence in our defense to shut them down, needs to realize, we are one of the worst in the nation at defending the run, and it's almost entirely due to scheming. There were times we didn't have a single LB behind our D line in the middle vs ODU. We can't do that against NC State or we are toast.

Make no mistake, they are not world beaters, they probably aren't the best team left on the schedule, but they are the only team with a winning record we have played since coastal last year, and the best team this season by far.

So in essence, we have to pass, and stop the run. We do that and i think we win. We don't, and it could be 35-3 NC State

[puma]

This is the first game in a very long time where I'm more worried about the defense than offense. Albany exposed some issues with the defense and ODU built their offense around exploiting it. If NC State watched any film from last week, they're going to go uptempo, especially on first downs, all while our guys are staring at the sidelines. We can't win if they can can knock out 50+ yard runs.