Football scouting report: Week 10 vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech

By Noah Fleischman

NC State coach Dave Doeren is 1-11 all time against top-10 ranked teams through his first 12 seasons in Raleigh. Now, in his 13th year leading the Wolfpack, Doeren has a chance to improve that mark when No. 8 Georgia Tech visits Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).

Before the Yellow Jackets arrive in Raleigh, let’s take a look at what challenges the top-10-ranked squad present in this week’s scouting report.

5 Georgia Tech players to watch

1. QB Haynes King

A bruising runner with the threat to throw, quarterback Haynes King is one of the more unique players in the ACC. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound signal-caller is currently the ACC’s third-leading rusher with 651 yards to go with a conference-best 12 touchdowns on the ground in 113 carries. He’s averaging an ACC-leading 8.7 yards per attempt, while leading the league in rushing yards by a quarterback. That doesn’t even account for the 1,480 passing yards with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception to go with a 72.3 percent completion rate. Oh, and he’s only been sacked 4 times — the fewest in the conference. King is the ultimate mismatch for most defenses — NC State included.

2. LB Kyle Efford

Georgia Tech’s leading tackler, linebacker Kyle Efford has tallied at least 6 tackles in all but two games, totaling 51 stops on the season. He has logged at least seven in each of his last four games, including a season-best nine stops in a 27-18 win at Duke two weeks ago. Efford doesn’t get after the quarterback much with just seven pressures, but he is a sure-handed tackler with just nine missed stops this fall. The linebacker flies around the field, and the Pack will need to locate him at all times.

3. RB Malachi Hosley

All good rushing teams have a standout ball carrier, and in the Yellow Jackets’ case, that’s former Ivy League star Malachi Hosley. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound tailback has rushed for 488 yards and 6 touchdowns on just 62 attempts in his first season at Georgia Tech after transferring in from the University of Pennsylvania. Hosley was a stud at the FCS level with 1,192 yards and 9 scores on 191 carries last fall, and that has transferred over well to Power Conference football. He isn’t much of a receiving threat with just 5 catches for 32 yards with the Yellow Jackets. 

4. WR Eric Rivers

Another transfer who has performed well on Georgia Tech’s offense, wide receiver Eric Rivers has caught 28 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown thus far this season. He’s averaging 10.7 yards per catch, which is well under the 18.9 yards per reception he had a year ago at Florida International, but Rivers is still a threat to move the ball downfield. King likes to look his way, targeting him at least three times in every game, including a 12-target contest at Wake Forest, which led to 8 receptions for a season-best 77 yards and a score in Week 5.

5. DB Daiquan White

Georgia Tech has missed its top defensive back Ahmari Harvey in each of the last two games due to a lower-body injury, which has allowed Daiquan White to play more in his place. The junior has posted 14 tackles, including 10 solos, with one pass defended this fall. White has allowed 6 receptions for 62 yards over the past two games combined, but he has only given up just 3 yards after the catch in the process. NC State could look to test White on the outside, but so far, it seems like he has held up pretty well in coverage.

3 keys to the game

1. Stop the run

If there’s one thing that Georgia Tech is nearly guaranteed to do is test NC State’s defense with the battering ram of a quarterback it has in King, with Hosley and fellow running back Jamal Haynes right there with him. The Yellow Jackets own the ACC’s second-best rushing attack with 229.8 yards on the ground per game. The Wolfpack, conversely, has the 10th-best unit against the run in the conference with 130.0 yards allowed per outing.

This has been an up-and-down year for NC State’s rushing defense, which limited East Carolina to just 30 yards in Week 1, but has given up more than 200 twice. If it can limit Georgia Tech to under 100 yards, the Wolfpack would be in a prime position to pull off the top-10 upset in Raleigh. There’s also a chance, however, that the Yellow Jackets could match — or surpass — their weekly average on the ground. That’s how suspect NC State’s rush defense has been this fall.

2. Be smart with the ball

Georgia Tech’s defense hasn’t been prolific in forcing turnovers this fall. The Yellow Jackets are second-to-last in the ACC with just 2 interceptions, while they’ve also forced 6 fumbles. NC State sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey, who has thrown 7 interceptions through the first eight games, will need to be smart with the ball. He can’t allow Georgia Tech’s offense to gain extra possessions, and a key to beating the Yellow Jackets will be keeping their offense on the sideline for as long as possible. The Pack has been to the red zone just once in the last two games combined. Bailey’s ability to take care of the possession will be critical in sustaining drives this weekend.

3. Get off the field on third down

A battle of one team’s strength and the other’s weakness has arrived. Georgia Tech is second in the ACC with a 50 percent third-down conversion rate, while NC State is second-to-last in the league defending it with teams converting 43.8 percent of the time. The Yellow Jackets’ rushing attack is a clear reason why it’s so successful in moving the chains, but if the Wolfpack wants to find a way to win the game, it will need to force punts on a consistent basis. Whichever team wins the third-down battle is likely going to win this game on the scoreboard, too.

1 NC State player who can alter the game

RB Hollywood Smothers

NC State’s star running back is on the verge of becoming just the 14th player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. He’d be the first since Reggie Gallaspy II did so in 2018, and while Smothers is 175 yards away from reaching the milestone, there’s a chance he could eclipse the mark this weekend. Georgia Tech’s rushing defense is porous, allowing the third-most yards in the conference with 155.3 per game this fall. Smothers has a game-changing skill set, one that could help the Wolfpack pull off the major upset.