The Notre Dame defense has started to turn things around. After a rocky start against Miami, Texas A&M and a half against Purdue, Chris Ash's unit has turned it around in their matchups with Arkansas and Boise State. This weekend, they have another tough test when the high-powered NC State offense comes to town. The Wolfpack have scored at least 45 points in two or their last three games and will be looking to do more of the same in South Bend this Saturday. We’ve broken down the top players to watch on the offensive side of the ball for NC State and it begins with their playmaking quarterback under center.
Quarterback #11 CJ Bailey
CJ Bailey has quietly been one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the ACC this season. The 6-6, 213-pound sophomore has completed over 74% of his passes for 1,660 yards, thrown 13 touchdowns, rushed for three more and has thrown three interceptions. He isn't the dual-threat quarterback many believed him to be, but he's hard to bring down in the backfield and can move the sticks with his legs. He's an accurate deep ball thrower and has gone 13 of 23 for 469 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions on throws of 20 yards or longer down the field. Bailey is in the top half of quarterbacks the Notre Dame defense will face this season.
Matchup To Watch: The Notre Dame pass rush was effective against Boise State generating 33 total pressures and a combined seven hits plus sacks on the quarterback. With that being said, they failed to bring down Maddux Madsen on a couple of plays that should have resulted in sacks. Bailey is a hard quarterback to bring down; the Irish pass rush will have to finish when they get hands on Bailey. If they can make him uncomfortable in the pocket, he'll put the ball in harms away.
Running Back #3 Hollywood Smothers
Aside from having an elite name, running back Hollywood Smothers has been an extremely productive and explosive running back for the Wolfpack this season. He's carried the ball 100 times for 693 yards, averages 6.9 yards per carry and has five rushing touchdowns this season. Smothers also has 21 receptions for 124 yards and a receiving touchdown. He has three carries this season of at least 50 yards and has scored a touchdown in four of their six games. At 5-11, 195-pounds, Smothers is a prototypically built running back and can make people miss out in space. He has 32 missed tackles forced this season and has at least four in every game. For reference, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has 22 missed tackles forced this season.
Matchup To Watch: The Notre Dame linebacking corps have steadily improved each week. Last week, against Boise State, their top two leading tacklers were linebackers Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jaiden Ausberry. The Irish ended the day with six missed tackles against Boise State and only one of them came from a linebacker. Tackling in the box and in space will be crucial for this unit this weekend; Smothers is a back that can make one guy miss and rip off a big gain. Chunk plays have been the name of the game for NC State's offense. The linebackers will play a big role this week in limiting the explosive run plays.
Wide Receiver #5 Noah Rogers
His stats won't blow you away through six games, but wide receiver Noah Rogers is an explosive playmaker in the NC State offense. The 6-2, 205-pound sophomore has recorded a catch of 20 or more yards in four of their six games this season including a 48-yard catch in their last outing against Campbell. Rogers is currently averaging 15.7 yards per catch but only has one touchdown on the season. He does his best work down the field, an area that Notre Dame's secondary has struggled to defend. Rogers only has 15 catches on the season; the Irish defense will have to be careful this isn't the game where Rogers breaks out.
Matchup To Watch: Opposing offenses haven't been shy at taking shots at Notre Dame's field cornerback Christian Gray. This season, Gray has been targeted 29 times, allowed 230 receiving yards and one touchdown. Bailey and this Wolfpack offense look to take shots down the field and rank No. 13 in the country in passing plays of 20 yards or longer. Gray will have to trust his technique and play disciplined against Rogers in coverage Saturday afternoon to prevent him from making any big plays.
Tight End #7 Justin Joly
Tight end Justin Joly has been Bailey's safety blanket all season long. The 6-3, 251-pound tight end currently leads the team in receptions (28), is second on the team in receiving yards (256) and is tied for the lead in touchdown receptions (3). Joly has gone over 40 receiving yards in each of his last three games against Duke, Virginia Tech and Campbell. The New York native is an extremely reliable weapon, has been targeted 39 times this season and has only dropped one pass back in week two against Virginia; 15 of his 28 receptions have gone for first downs. He is Bailey's go-to target on third down situations, something the Notre Dame defense will have to account for.
Matchup To Watch: Safety Tae Johnson has been extremely impressive and effective since making his way into the starting lineup. He's been targeted seven times, allowed three receptions, recorded an interception and has yet to miss a tackle. At 6-2, 193-pounds, Johnson matches up well with tight ends and will be one of the players tasked with limiting Joly's production on Saturday. NC State's tight end can rip off big plays, move the chains and is a potential threat in the red zone. The Notre Dame secondary will have to identify where Joly is at on the field at all times.
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