NC State vs VMI in 1-2-3

One Thing I’m Worried About

1. An emotional letdown game against a team that’s not being taken seriously. Yeah, that’s my concern with this game. I don’t need to elaborate further.

Two Things I’m Confident In

1. The size, speed, and depth advantage that NC State has over VMI.
2. There were a lot of drops last week... so many drops... but the silver lining is that dropped passes require both the receiver to have created a window and the quarterback to deliver a catchable pass. That the Wolfpack was able to create those opportunities (and, man, do I feel some kind of icky calling dropped passes “opportunities”) against a stout Notre Dame defense should be reason for optimism going forward. Just, you know, catch those passes next time.

Three Stats You Should Know

1. VMI has the 121st ranked offense (out of 128 teams) in the FCS division according to SP+. The Keydets defense is ranked 37th.
2. NC State ranks 46th in FBS in 3rd down conversion percentage (47.1%). Last year, the Wolfpack ranked 96th, converting 36.2% of third down opportunities.
3. The Keydets have put just one of five kickoffs in the endzone for a touchback this year. There should be opportunities for NC State’s return game to make an impact in this game.