Associated Press
RALEIGH ó With just one field goal and six quarterback sacks to show for the offense, Tom O’Brien is putting emphasis on points and protection for N.C. State.
O’Brien, who lost his third straight season opener at N.C. State in a 7-3 defeat against South Carolina, said the Wolfpack did not protect quarterback Russell Wilson properly.
“We have to protect the quarterback better and we have to have a better performance up front,” O’Brien said.
Murray State (1-0) will not have the same athletic ability and depth that South Carolina threw at the Wolfpack, so that should help N.C. State work out some of the deficiencies from its first outing.
“We have to bounce back,” Wolfpack offensive tackle Jeraill McCuller said. “I didn’t have the best outing, but it’s something you have to learn from. I think we had a great plan going into the game, but if all 11 players aren’t on the same page then the play will fail.
“We had too many plays where we had 10 guys doing the right thing and one player doing it wrong.”
The Wolfpack defense made a strong showing but recorded 21 missed tackles.
“There are no excuses for that many missed tackles,” defensive tackle Alan-Michael Cash said.
Saturday’s game against Murray State will be the first meeting between the two schools.