What they’re saying after NC State’s win over Miami

NC State followed its win over Clemson with another victory on Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium, this time a 20-6 win over Miami. 

The Wolfpack defense did not allow a touchdown, which was the first time NC State held an ACC opponent out of the end zone since it beat North Carolina 13-0 in 2011. 

Here are what those who covered the game are saying about the Pack’s sixth win of the 2023 campaign. 

Ethan McDowell, The Wolfpacker — NC State prevails in a night full of firsts

“Dave Doeren broke NC State’s wins record Saturday night, Jordan Poole and Kendrick Raphael found the end zone and the Wolfpack recorded its first win over Miami since 2008. 

The defense played elite football and, thanks to a night full of firsts, NC State’s late-season momentum is starting to snowball. After the bye week, the Pack went off-script offensively, turning to a new cast of contributors, while the defense buckled down and took a leap. 

Following 7 games of up-and-down offensive performances, NC State knew 2 things— freshman wide receiver Kevin Concepcion is a special player, and teams are going to try everything to take him out of games. 

Miami slowed down the freshman by his explosive standards. He finished with 5 catches for 61 yards and 6 carries for 22 yards. Poole and Raphael, two emerging faces in the Wolfpack backfield, stepped up around him.”

Noah Fleischman, The Wolfpacker — NC State’s defense upholds its standard in the Wolfpack’s win over Miami 

“When former NC State coach — and longtime Notre Dame head whistle — Lou Holtz was in Raleigh to commemorate the 1973 ACC championship team, he sat and talked with current Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren. As they talked about what the red and white’s strengths and weaknesses were, takeaways came up. 

NC State’s defense hangs its hat on takeaways, while its offense struggled with turnovers during the first half of the season. As the two coaches talked, Holtz had a simple, yet philosophical approach to taking care of the football. 

“He said, ‘The football is pretty important. They named the entire sport after it,’” Doeren recalled. “I thought that was a great line from coach Holtz. … I think it says it all.”

Holtz’s uncomplicated phrase proved itself useful in NC State’s 20-6 win over Miami on Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack forced four turnovers, and finished plus-three in the turnover margin against the Hurricanes.”

Jadyn Watson-Fisher, News & Observer — Three takeaways from N.C. State football’s win over Miami as Dave Doeren sets wins record

“In a 24-3 loss at Duke three weeks earlier, NC State linebacker Payton Wilson apologized to the fan base for the team’s poor performance.

“That’s not what they deserve. That’s not how we should play,” Wilson said. “Everybody on this team has gotta get with the program. We’ve gotta come out here and we gotta play as hard as you can possibly play every single snap.” 

He and his teammates had absolutely nothing to apologize for Saturday. In fact, the Wolfpack put on its best defensive effort of the season. 

Wilson showed why he’s a contender for the Bednarik, Butkus and Nagurski awards. The grad student racked up a season-high 16 tackles, seven solo, two pass breakups and two QB hurries. He nearly had an interception in the second half, as well, stopping Miami on third down.”

Matt Shodell, CaneSport — ANALYSIS: Offensive ineptitude, turnovers cost Miami Hurricanes in ugly loss at NC State

“Miami at NC State on Saturday night was the epitome of a messy game, with the teams combining for four first-half turnovers and a lot of sloppy offense that saw the Wolfpack lead at the break, 10-6.

The second half began with five three-and-outs by both teams combined … and a missed field goal by Andy Borregales (who had hit his first two attempts). At one point Miami didn’t convert on nine consecutive third downs.

Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke wound up with three interceptions, making it 10 in the last four starts for him, and another INT was dropped.

Yes, an ugly game.

And an ugly result if you’re a Miami fan.”

Adam Lichtenstein, Florida Sun-Sentinel — Hurricanes’ offensive woes deepen as UM fails to reach end zone in brutal road loss to N.C. State

“RALEIGH, N.C. — The Hurricanes went to North Carolina seeking an end to an offensive drought, but conditions remained dry in Raleigh.

Miami (6-3, 2-3 ACC) failed to reach the end zone in a 20-6 loss to N.C. State (6-3, 3-2 ACC), scoring a season low in points and recording its second-lowest yardage of the season.

“We’ve got to get our guys to perform better,” UM coach Mario Cristobal said. “We’ve got to design a couple things that might help us see things a little bit more clearly. But (it is) a little bit of everything.”

Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald — Miami falls at NC State, crushing ACC hopes as undefeated No. 4 FSU in Tally looms

“Miami’s November to remember started Saturday in a road game the Hurricanes would rather forget.

After ending October with back-to-back overtime wins, the University of Miami fell 20-6 in four quarters to North Carolina State to extinguish remaining hopes of playing itself into the Atlantic Coast Conference title game Dec. 2 in Charlotte. 

The Hurricanes’ loss at Carter-Finley Stadium dropped them to 6-3 and 2-3 in the ACC, with No. 4 archrival Florida State (9-0, 7-0) looming next Saturday in a nationally televised game (ABC). 

The Wolfpack rose to 6-3 and 3-2.”