Head To Head Matchup: Receivers

The Noles will be facing North Carolina State receivers that have size and speed. The leading Wolfpack receiver for the season is 6-3 sophomore wide receiver Owen Spencer. Spencer has 323 receiving yards and 1 TD. He is ranked at #7 in the ACC in receiving yards. In the last game against Boston College, Spencer had 102 yards which included a 61-yard TD catch.

NC State has thrown the ball to a lot of different players so far this season. They have thrown to 15 different players and of those, 14 have at least two receptions or more. NC State also uses their tight end in their offense. 6-5 redshirt freshman tight end George Bryan has caught the ball for 158 yards and 2 TDs. He ranks second in number of catches caught for NC State with 15 receptions. 6-0 freshman wide receiver T. J. Graham has caught 10 passes for 163 yards and 0 TD. In addition, 6-4 sophomore wide receiver Jarvis Williams from Orlando, Florida has 116 reception yards and 2 TDs. It is interesting to note that the Wolfpack's second leading receiver is running back Andre Brown who has 177 reception yards and 1 TD. He has thirteen catches which is third on the reception list.

Defensive matchup: The NC State receivers will be facing an improving Nole secondary. The Noles are ranked #4 in the ACC in pass defense allowing 166 yards a game. Look for Tony Carter to try and improve on his interceptions total in this game. In addition, Myron Rolle is also due for a pick. The secondary will have to be playing at their "A" game against NC State who has speedy wide receiver T.J. Graham. Size and speed will be a concern and the Noles will have to avoid blown coverages in order to avoid some easy TDs by the Wolfpack. And as with Miami, the Noles will have to be prepared to cover the tight end. The Noles do rank #1 in the ACC in passes broken up with 29.

For the Noles, they are still searching for someone on the receiving corps to be a big playmaker. Ponder has not gotten on track yet with the passing game and the receivers have underperformed at this point in the season.

Greg Carr leads the Noles in reception yards with 199 yards and 2 TDs. Bert Reed and Taiwan Easterling are close behind with 172 and 157 yards respectively. Easterling has yet to have a TD but Reed has 2 TDs so far on the season. The TD leader for the receivers is big man Corey Surrency who has 3 TDs on the year but has been quiet in recent games. Preston Parker has yet to get on track after coming back from his suspension.

Defensive matchup: The receivers for the Noles will be facing a NC State secondary that is ranked last in the ACC allowing 260 yards a game. If Ponder can get on track and hit his receivers, the Noles should be able to rack up some yards and hopefully TDs on the Wolfpack. He does have to avoid the interception as NC State ranks #3 in the ACC in interceptions with 9. That compares to FSU with only 4. Freshman defensive back Justin Byers leads the Wolfpack in interceptions with 2. The Wolfpack also ranks #6 in the ACC in passes broken up with 14.