Two solid defenses that do things a little differently. Marshall blankets the pass but is a sieve against the run so far. NC State has been sturdy against the run but is a little soft in the secondary. Both teams can really get after the QB...Marshall is currently 2nd in the country with 4.0 sacks per game. NC State is currently 23rd with 3.0 sacks per game.
A few things that stood out when putting this together:
A few things that stood out when putting this together:
>Despite having a pretty mediocre offense (89th in scoring, 97th in yardage, 125th in passing efficiency), NC State is actually pretty efficient on 3rd downs - they rank in the top 1/4 of the country with 46% third down conversions. As a result, their Time of Possession average is a respectable 37th in the country at 31.2 Minutes Per Game.
>I had no idea we've been so dreadful on 3rd downs (#122 out 130 teams). Perhaps my mind is still awash from Saturday's 41 point scoring outburst (yes I know 7 of those points came from the defense), but I honestly didn't think we had been THAT bad on 3rd down. Surprisingly, despite the awful 3rd down offense, we're currently 21st in the country in Time of Possession 32.25 Minutes per Game (We can thank the defense for this as they are once again one of the best 3rd down defenses in the country).
On paper, this looks like a game where the first one to 20 points probably wins. I'd say we'll get a heavy dose of the Wolfpack run game on Saturday. Can we bow up and play disciplined defense? We'll have to wait and see...| Marshall (4-0) | NC State 3-2 | |
| PPG | 29.2 (67th) | 25.4 (89th) |
| Points Allowed | 20.5 (39th) | 20.0 (37th) |
| Total Offense | 412.3 (56th) | 345.2 (97th) |
| Rush Offense | 169.0 (51st) | 151.0 (69th) |
| Pass Offense | 243.3 (58th) | 194.2 (102nd) |
| Offensive Pass Effic | 141.91 (57th) | 111.15 (125th) |
| 3rd Down Offense | 31% (122nd) | 46% (33rd) |
| Total Defense | 336.5 (43rd) | 322.0 (34th) |
| Rush Defense | 193.8 (119th) | 95.6 (18th) |
| Pass Defense | 142.8 (2nd) | 226.4 (63rd) |
| Defensive Pass Effic | 88.94 (2nd) | 136.78 (78th) |
| 3rd Down Defense | 24% (4th) | 30% (15th) |
| Turnover Margin Per Game | -0.25 (90th) | +0.20 (49th) |
| Penalty Yards Per Game | 53.5 (71st) | 54.0 (74th) |
