Defensive Line Shines, In A Mixed Performance Overall

Larrell Murchison knew coming into the game against the Seminoles that his defense would perform better than it had showed in its last two games.

The increase of pressure in the game plan gave him confidence the Wolfpack would have success against FSU. Eight sacks and 14 tackles for loss later, his defensive front put together one of the strongest performances, if not the strongest, of the season.

“We tried to work on small things in practice, we’re always watching film but last week we realized we needed to get better and that was the focus, Murchison said.” “It’s very frustrating to lose but I’m going to do my best to help build and make us better each week.”

While the front seven was nearly dominant throughout the night, the secondary struggled to keep Florida State’s receivers in front of them and when they did, they took poor angles to the ball and missed tackles. The secondary gave up a career-high, 316 yards and three touchdowns to Wisconsin-transfer Alex Hornibrook, who was making his first start in a Seminole uniform.

However, Murchison finished with 3.5 sacks to pace the eight-sack onslaught by the Pack’s defense and in the first half, the defensive line singlehandedly kept the score close.

“Defensively there was a lot of improvement, I just thought they were out there too much,” Doeren added. “What’s disappointing for them is to not get a takeaway. I thought we pressured the quarterback and stopped the run.” 

NC State and defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable brought numbers tonight in a way that made it obvious the game plan was to bring the heat against the immobile Hornibrook. 

“You could definitely say we were aggressive tonight,” Murchison agreed. “Every call from the coaches is to bring pressure, but we wanted this win tonight.”

The defense has been dealt some tough injuries this season, forcing the team to adapt on the fly. With the bye week coming at the perfect time, Huxtable’s unit can build on the dominant effort up front holding Cam Akers and the Seminoles to just 53 yards rushing and 5.1 yards per play overall on the night.

“Every loss is a lesson, it’s a good thing to learn from, Murchison said. “We’re going to look at this film and take what we need to and get better.”