Mississippi State hosts a Power Five nonconference opponent when North Carolina State comes to town Saturday.
The Bulldogs (1-0) will face the Wolfpack (1-0) at 6 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium.
For perspective on Mississippi State’s opponent, The Dispatch spoke with Rob McLamb, who covers NC State for Inside Pack Sports and The Wilson Times. McLamb is in his 11th season covering the Wolfpack.
Note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What are your general thoughts on this year’s NC State team after one game?
McLamb: There were kind of a lot of unknowns going in. Last season, they finished 8-4, but there were some close games they won. That’s probably an anomaly for them. Generally over the years they’ve done worse in the 50-50 games than they have better. There’s some unknown, but they went out there defensively and they were really after it. Offensively, they were clicking. The running backs did really well. From an NC State perspective, that performance generates a lot of excitement, and now the question becomes, ‘Was it more because South Florida’s a wretched football team, or is NC State for real?’ This is kind of one of those weeks where you’ll find out.
Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person both went over 100 yards against South Florida. How do you see the matchup between NC State’s rushing offense and an MSU run defense that looked pretty strong against LA Tech?
McLamb: I know Mississippi State runs the odd front. Offensively, you have to find where the pressure is coming from. So if NC State can pick up the pressure, they can find the gaps the Bulldogs will send their linebackers or safeties through, I think NC State can run the ball on Mississippi State. Conversely, I think Mississippi State can probably run on the Wolfpack a little bit, too, because they’re an odd-front team as well. In Zonovan Knight, you have someone who you can picture as an SEC running back. Ricky Person’s really good — he’s not just a serviceable running back; he’s a really good running back — and you can see him playing at a Power Five school as well. With the offensive line that the Wolfpack have — Grant Gibson and Ikem Ekwonu at tackle — they should be able to block and do some things.
Where do you think is the biggest mismatch in Saturday’s game? What can either team do to exploit it?
McLamb: Whoever can run the ball better will win the game. I don’t see them really being teams that are equipped to stop a solid running game. I’m not a fan of the odd front. The even fronts are more geared toward stopping the running game — they’re more conventional. A lot of these teams now, they go up tempo. They throw the ball around. The odd fronts are giving them leverage so they can decide to send a fourth player or a fifth player on a blitz, but then on the next down they can play coverage with those guys and it’s not a changing of the personnel. That’s why teams do the odd front, and it can work, but I’m not a big fan of it. I think it lends itself to running the ball. Which team can run the ball and control the clock? Obviously, if they’re going up tempo, time of possession can be a factor. You’re going to need to keep the ball away from Mississippi State. You’re going to need to keep their offense on the sideline.
What is your prediction for how things might shake out Saturday?
McLamb: The problem with NC State is historically they’ve not done well — they’ve only won one road game ever against an SEC school. Ever. They don’t do well against SEC schools. A lot of people are projecting NC State can win this game by double digits, or at least some people here locally feel that. I think if they beat the Bulldogs, it’ll probably be a closer game. I would say this will be a one-possession game, and I’ll go NC State 30, Mississippi State 28.
Is there anything else about this game that you wanted to mention?
McLamb: NC State’s got really good special teams. That could be a factor. The kicker and the punter both look like NFL material. Zonovan Knight returns kickoffs, and Thayer Thomas returns punts. I would be careful if I were Mississippi State with the Wolfpack on kickoff and punt returns. That could be a difference in the game. I would not be surprised if you see a late field goal or if special teams gives the Wolfpack a touchdown and that ends up being the difference.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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