Head To Head Matchup: Quarterbacks

It is an understatement to say that NC State has been plagued with injuries. One newspaper report stated that that the Wolfpack ranks are so decimated that head coach Tom O'Brien sidesteps questions about how many healthy scholarships players are at his disposal.

NC State has been playing musical chairs with their QBs in the early games. It now seems that QB Russell Wilson is their QB after having missed the South Florida game with a shoulder injury but playing in the hard fought loss to Boston College 38-31 on October 4. NC State headed into the game against the Noles has played six games for a record of 2-4 while the Noles are 4-1.

The Noles on Thursday night will face 5-11/191 pound redshirt freshman Russell Wilson who for the season has completed 56.7% of his passes for 532 yards and 4 TDs. In five games played, he has thrown one interception. He also can run with the ball and has rushed for 63 yards and 2 TDs on 44 attempts. Backing Wilson up is 6-2/220 pound junior Harrison Beck who has played in 5 games and thrown for 592 yards and 2 TDs. He has completed less than 50% of his passes and has thrown 6 interceptions.

The NC State passing offense is ranked at #5 in the ACC with 195 yards per game. However, when it comes to scoring, the Wolfpack is ranked #11 in the ACC. Both Wilson and Beck are ranked #10 and #9 in the ACC in passing yards.

Defensive matchup: Wilson will be facing a tough FSU defense that is ranked #1 in the ACC. In pass defense, the Noles are ranked #4. The Noles also lead the ACC in sacks with 15. The defense is aggressive and Wilson can expect to be hurried and probably sacked at least once during the game. Look for defensive end Everrette Brown and linebacker Derek Nicholson among others to make Wilson's night a tough one. The offensive line will have a tough time at keeping their QB from getting sacked or hurried. The Wolfpack is ranked #11 in the ACC in sacks allowed. Wilson will also be throwing into a FSU secondary that is ranked #1 in the ACC in passes broken up and passes defended.

For the Noles, Christian Ponder will be starting his sixth game. Ponder has yet to get on track with his passing game although against Miami he looked better at executing and managing the ball. On the season, he has completed a meager 49% of his passes and thrown for 706 yards and 7 TDs. He also has thrown 6 interceptions. Ponder has also rushed for 262 yards and is the number two rusher on the team. His passing numbers do not look good and it is apparent that this is an area that needs to improve as the Noles face some tough ACC foes. Drew Weatherford is apparently still listed as #2 in the depth charts but if Nole fans see Weatherford early in the game, that can only mean that the Noles are losing. D'Vontrey Richardson is apparently competing again for the backup spot to Ponder.

The Noles are ranked #7 in the ACC in passing offense with 193 yards a game. However, they are ranked #1 in scoring offense and have been able to score within the red zone and on third down conversions more effectively than last year. The offensive line has done a good job at preventing sacks and in fact the Noles are ranked #1 in sacks allowed in the ACC.

Defensive matchup: The Nole offensive line and QB will be going against a NC State defense that on paper does not look that intimidating. The defense is dead last in the ACC allowing over 430 yards a game. The same goes for their pass defense that ranks last and is allowing 260 yards a game. Ponder if he does the proper reads should be able to hit his receivers for some significant yards. The one area that Ponder will have to be careful in is interceptions. The Wolfpack has 9 interceptions for the season and are ranked #3 in the ACC.