Notre Dame Football Preview: NC State Wolfpack Offense

The Notre Dame football team faces an extremely efficient offense on Saturday. With only three turnovers on the season, the Wolfpack rank No. 1 in the country in turnovers lost. Quarterback Ryan Finley paces the North Carolina State offense with his poised play.

Quarterback Ryan Finley

Finley does not impress with overwhelming athletic talent. However, he is one of the most efficient Quarterbacks in the country. Finley is currently completing 69.4% of his passes. He tallied 1968 yards with 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Yes, you read that correctly; no interceptions. The Notre Dame defense thrived on being able to turn the ball over. If they hope to force these mistakes on Saturday, it probably will not come from No. 15.

Running Backs

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Nyheim Hines sprinted his way to 648 yards with 6 touchdowns in the first seven games. Hines, a 5’9″ 197 lbs. Junior from Garner, North Carolina, also is dangerous on Punt and Kick returns.

Hines is not the only Wolfpack player who is dangerous in the run game. Reggie Gallaspy II and swiss-army knife Jaylen Samuels rushed for 249 yards and 191 yards respectively.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Sophomore Wide Receiver Kelvin Harmon is a deep threat for the Wolfpack. In seven games, he has caught 36 passes for 567 yards with 2 touchdown. This averages out to 15.19 yards per catch.

Again, Jaylen Samuels figures into the mix in the passing game. Whether he lines up in the backfield, at Tight End or in the slot, he is a threat to score. Samuels caught 54 passes for 453 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Offensive Line

One reason Finley protects the ball is he is protected by Wolfpack Offensive Line. Junior Tyler Jones, Junior Terronne Prescod, Junior Garrett Bradbury, Senior Tony Adams, Junior Will Richardson start (left to right) along on North Carolina State line. They have only allowed 8 sacks in seven games this season.

Bottom Line

Despite being efficient in many facets of the game, the North Carolina State offense is inefficient in the redzone. The Wolfpack rank 107th in redzone efficiency. This could be critical to Notre Dame’s success in the game. The Fighting Irish currently rank 18th in the country in redzone defense. Furthermore, Notre Dame prevents many of their opponents from scoring touchdowns in the redzone. They only allow 7 points on 39.13% of the opponent’s trip to the redzone.

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