Game Preview: NC State

Ryan Finley had a head start on the quarterback competition at North Carolina State.

The graduate transfer from Boise State followed his offensive coordinator, Eli Drinkwitz, to Raleigh, N.C., and hit the ground running.

That’s not surprising, considering the bond he has with Drinkwitz. Finley missed 10 games last season at Boise State with an ankle injury and all of his freshman season in 2014 with a shoulder injury. While he was out last year, he sat in the coaches booth with Drinkwitz, immersing himself in the offense.

“You don’t see a whole lot of quarterbacks that will go to their third read, their fourth read and the progressions. He’s done that,” TheWolfpacker.com editor Matt Carter said of Finley, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound native of Phoenix, Ariz. “He’s very poised and he doesn’t let pressure get to him. He looks through the pressure rather than at it and goes through his reads. I wouldn’t say he has a cannon arm, but he can throw it deep well enough. More of an accurate, very accurate ball, managing the offense type of guy.”

In three games as the Broncos' starter last season, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Finley was 46-of-70 passing with a touchdown and four interceptions. When he got to NC State in May, he began a quarterback battle with redshirt sophomore Jalan McClendon, a competition that lasted into the team’s opening game against William & Mary.

Finley finished that game 17-for-21 for 174 yards and two touchdowns, while McClendon went 6-for-9 for 88 yards and an interception. It’s been all Finley since.

“He seems to have a great command of the offense,” Carter said.

Finley graduated in three years from Boise State and now has three years of eligibility remaining with the Wolfpack. His strong start — he ranked first in the country in completion percentage (76.3 percent) through four weeks — has stabilized an offense that lost quarterback Jacoby Brissett to the NFL.

“He is a great manager,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said of Finley last week on his radio show. “He knows coach Drink, he understands why he does what he does and does a good job managing that part of the offense. He puts us in the right place a lot of times. I've said it many times. He throws a very catchable ball and he gets it out quick and allows his players to make plays. That's the best thing a quarterback can do is get the ball to the right people quickly and let them do their thing. He's done that repetitively and he'll continue to get better because he's a critic of himself and he works out it.”

Finley is surrounded by some offensive talent. Redshirt sophomore receiver Stephen Louis has emerged as a threat, leading the team with 226 receiving yards through the first three games.

“Stephen Louis has kind of been the breakout guy at receiver,” Carter said of the 6-2, 215-pound Louis who missed all of the 2015 season due to injury. “He had surgeries on both his shoulders, so he had a medical redshirt last year. He always looked the part, but he’s done a lot better than I would have expected the past couple weeks.”

Senior running back Matthew Dayes is the one to watch in the backfield. Through three games, he was averaging 104 yards per game.

“NC State, they’re a very balanced team, they can run the ball and Matthew Dayes is a real good running back,” Carter said. “They can beat you running and throwing offensively. On paper it looks like this would be a fairly high-scoring, lot of points scored type of game.”

Defensively, sophomore Darian Roseboro — a former Rivals100 Michigan commit — teams with senior Bradley Chubb and juniors Kentavious Street and Justin Jones to form a solid front four.

The Wolfpack had five sacks in their win over Old Dominion. In a 33-30 loss to East Carolina, NC State had 13 tackles for loss.

“The big thing is Darian Roseboro, he’s a sophomore now and he’s really upped his play this year,” Carter said. “He had three sacks in the last game and he’s had at least one tackle for loss in every game. He’s the one that’s really bumped it up to another level.”

The secondary hasn’t been the Wolfpack’s strong suit.

“The corners have gotten beat — William & Mary and Old Dominion had one good receiver a piece,” Carter said. “The problem is every other team is going to have three or four of those type of guys from here on out. The Old Dominion guy (Zach Paschal) had over 100 yards receiving. They’ve had some issues in coverage and the ECU quarterback (Philip Nelson) completed his last 17 or 18 passes in a row to end the game. That would be the No. 1 worry at this point.”

The big win has eluded Doeren during his three-plus seasons at North Carolina State. And although Notre Dame doesn’t enter the Oct. 8 matchup with as much buzz as its No. 10 preseason ranking, the Irish figure to be a measuring stick for the 44-year-old Doeren.

During his tenure, Doeren has compiled recruiting class that ranked in the 30s and 40s nationally by Rivals, including a 30th-ranked class in 2014. Doeren inherited a roster that had lagged in recruiting — highlighted by a 96th-ranked class in 2011 under previous coach Tom O’Brien.

The next step is taking that talent and winning marquee games, which Doeren has failed to do.

Carter-Finley Stadium — a notoriously tough place to play for opposing teams — is celebrating its 50th anniversary for the Notre Dame game.

The stadium, which seats 57,583 fans, has a built-in advantage for the Wolfpack.

“Part of it is traditionally NC State’s always been a solid team,” Carter said. “They may lack greatness, but they’ve always been a solid team. There’s some talent there, and then you throw in the atmosphere, and for a stadium that only holds 55-60,000, it’s right on top of you.

“There’s no sideline, and the opposing players are usually caught off guard by how they’re right on top of you. It is very loud for its size. It creates an electric atmosphere, which kind of gives that adrenaline rush for the team to play perhaps a little bit past their capabilities, which isn’t bad to begin with.”

Date: Oct. 1, 2016.

Site: Carter-Finley Stadium (57,583).

Kickoff: TBD.

Television: TBD.

Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129).

Series Facts: This is the second all-time meeting between NC State and Notre Dame. The Wolfpack beat the Irish 28-6 in the previous meeting (2002 Gator Bowl).

Coaches: NC State — Dave Doeren (21-21, fourth season); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (57-26, seventh season).

Noting NC State: At his previous job, Doeren led Northern Illinois to the 2013 Orange Bowl with a 12-1 record. The Huskies were defeated 31-10 by Florida State … NC State offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz served under current Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Sanford at Boise State in 2014. Drinkwitz was the Broncos’ tight ends coach … Junior H-back Jaylen Samuels earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors a year ago with 65 catches for 597 yards and seven TDs. Through three games, he had 135 yards and three TDs this season.