College Football Game of the Week: No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers vs. No. 24 NC State Wolfpack

Saturday night features a primetime inter-conference brawl between the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 24 North Carolina State Wolfpack.

The Vols of Tennessee are entering week two after a prolific 69-3 win over Chattanooga in a game that featured 45 first-half points for Tennessee. 6-foot-6 freshman quarterback Nico lamaleava led the Volunteers to a dominant week one showing with an efficient 314 passing yards in just 28 attempts. Backups Gaston Moore and Jake Merklinger also got snaps as QB late in the contest.

Dylan Sampson led the Tennessee ground attack with 124 rushing yards in just 12 attempts, for an average of 10.2 yards per carry. In total, the Volunteers rushed for 304 yards, showcasing the potential of a dominant running attack moving forward this season.

For the Wolfpack of NC State, it was a slightly different tale from week one. The Wolfpack ride into week two coming off a 38-21 victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts in a game from August 29th, giving the Wolfpack nine days of rest time before their matchup with Tennessee.

Senior Grayson McCall quarterbacked the NC State Wolfpack to a 17-point victory behind 318 passing yards and three touchdowns. Jordan Waters led the rushing attack for the Wolfpack, being given 20 carries and running 124 yards, including one rush for 50 yards.

Quarterback Grayson McCall’s favorite target of the game was the sophomore receiver Kevin Concepcion who caught nine receptions for 121 yards and three receiving touchdowns.

The No. 14 Volunteers will march into Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday coming off of one of the most dominant wins in team history in which the defense showed to be completely unmovable. The offense of Tennessee, however, was equally unstoppable.

The No. 24 Wolfpack will be challenged with the task of finding how to neutralize the boisterous ground game of the Volunteers. In their week one contest, the Wolfpack struggled to stop the run game of the Western Carolina Catamounts.

Quarterback Cole Gonzalez led the run game for Western Carolina with a 50-yard rush and an overall performance of six yards for 75 carries. The Wolfpack allowed 120 total rushing yards and an average of 6.3 yards per attempt.

Running back Dylan Samson of the Tennessee Volunteers should expect to see many carries and rack up the rushing yards against a vulnerable NC State defense.

Where the Wolfpack might have an advantage, however, is in quarterback pressure. Despite holding Chattanooga to just three points, the Volunteers were not able to get to quarterback Chase Artopoeus very often, causing just one sack during the contest.

If the Wolfpack can keep the pocket clean and create time for quarterback Grayson McCall, it could mean a more efficient offense for NC State.

Sketch Morton is a fifth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email Sam7539@psu.edu.