Wolfpack to Host Tigers in Key ACC Showdown

In an unusually early meeting, the NC State Wolfpack will host the Clemson Tigers in a rare September division matchup Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 pm inside Carter-Finley Stadium and can be seen on ESPN.

The Wolfpack (2-1) were able to shake off an ugly loss to Mississippi State with a dominant 45-7 win over FCS Furman this past Saturday. NC State finished with a total of 505 yards of offense to Furman’s 196 – a number that included 218 NC State rushing yards on 31 attempts. NC State led 38-0 at the half before cruising to the bounce back win.

#9 Clemson (2-1) heads to Raleigh after dropping three spots in the polls – escaping with a 14-8 win over Georgia Tech last Saturday in a wild weather delayed contest. Minus the Tigers’ 49-3 win over FCS South Carolina State, Clemson has only been able to score a total of 17 points against Power 5 competition. Saturday’s contest will be the Tigers first true road game in which should be a loud and rowdy Carter-Finley Stadium.

Game Notes:

• Three of the last four home contests against Clemson have come down to the fourth quarter: 14-26 in 2013, 41-56 in 2015, and 31-38 in 2017. In 2019 – the year the Pack was decimated with injuries -Clemson won 55-10.

• NC State has three wins against a top-10 Clemson team all-time (1987, 1988 and 2011), with a pair of those in Carter-Finley Stadium (1988 and 2011).

• Clemson has won eight straight, and 15 of the last 16, in the series. The Pack’s lone win in that stretch was a 37-13 home win over the No. 7 Tigers in 2011.

• This will mark the 11th time the Wolfpack has faced a top-10 team under Dave Doeren.

• Running back Zonovan “Bam” Knight is averaging 8.5 yards per rush- a mark that ranks 15th in the FBS (fifth among players with 20 or more carries).

• Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren ranks second in career victories in NC State history with 57. He boasts the third-longest tenure among all current ACC coaches.

• This week’s game will feature two of the FBS’s most stalwart defenses statistically. Both teams are ranked in the top five of the FBS in scoring defense and both teams rank in the top 20 in two other defensive categories.

• Neither team has allowed a rushing touchdown this season, which means two of the six teams that haven’t allowed a rushing TD will be facing off on Saturday.