RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State (3-2, 0-1 ACC) is heading back into ACC play this Saturday against Wake Forest, but will close out a three-game homestand the following week against Syracuse. The Wolfpack and Orange will face off next Saturday at 8 p.m. on ACC Network with a chance for both to pick up a critical ACC win.
This marks the third time NC State will kickoff a game on primetime, and the first at home since the season opener against Western Carolina, which was held on a Thursday.
NC State and Syracuse haven’t faced off since the 2022 season, which was nearly as unique as the current position the Wolfpack finds itself in now. State had already lost starting quarterback Devin Leary for the year and rolled out backup QB Jack Chambers for his first start in a completely unremarkable 24-9 loss in the Carrier Dome. Current Wolfpack OC Robert Anae cooked up the Wolfpack defense with 389 total yards and never trailed despite Garrett Shrader throwing for two interceptions in the game.
While the Orange have looked great against teams like Ohio, Georgia Tech and Holy Cross, Kyle McCord has had issues of his own passing the football over the last two weeks. The Ohio State transfer QB still has six passing touchdowns over that span, but has also thrown four interceptions while being sacked seven times against Stanford and Holy Cross. He’s thrown for nearly 1,500 yards and has 14 touchdowns this season, but getting to McCord and forcing turnovers will be a major key for the Pack next Saturday.
Defensively, the Orange rank No. 63 in the country in scoring defense with 22.5 points per game allowed and have allowed just 74 total first downs, which ranks 36th in the country. They also rank 25th with a 30.8 percent third-down conversion percentage, but allow 139 yards on the ground per game, something the Pack can exploit with experienced backs — if it ever gets the ground game going.
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