Huxtable Knows Pack Defense Has To Get Back On Track

Boston College will not try to reinvent itself offensively for anyone but the Eagles know how to watch film. 

Recent footage of NC State’s defense will show that while the Wolfpack has generally been able to stop the run, the last two games have also been decided with gashes up the middle going for massive yardage and culminating with the opposing running back in the end zone. 

Stopping the running game is not like throwing horseshoes or hand grenades. Being close does not count. 

NC State defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable wants his team to return to being a sound run-stopping unit this week but it will not be easy. 

Boston College has little in the way of secrecy in regards to its approach of attack offensively. That does not make it easy to stop. 

It starts with the Eagles’ front. NC State can expect them to drill the same scheme over and over again. 

“This is who we are, this is who we are going to be and this is what we do,”  Huxtable said when asked about Boston College’s blocking scheme. “I think that is what their identity is and they do it well. 

“I think they are very good. I think they are very well-coached. I think they are big. They are strong. They are very physical. They create a lot of double-teams at the line of scrimmage so there is 600 pounds in a double-team on a three-technique. Our guys have got to be very strong. Linebackers have got to be fast to fit to pull 300 pounds off of it to create a single block.”

Huxtable is impressed with Boston College’s success. 

The Eagles let teams know what they will do and have no interest in deviating yet they still find ways to succeed. 

“They have got different run plays but they are the same blocking schemes so they are working them over and over and over,” Huxtable said. “So the fundamentals are the same and the same. When you can do that you can get better and better in your fundamentals.”

The Wolfpack defense can expect Boston College to use the running game to probe the middle after watching both Notre Dame and Clemson use long runs to take control in NC State’s last two games. 

It is Huxtable’s job to prevent history from repeating itself but it will not be easy against the Eagles. 

“I think our guys are going to take a lot of pride this week,” Huxtable said. “The pride has been bent a little bit. We have to get back on track and do what we do. Do it with good fundamentals, good technique and toughness. 

“[We need to] be where we are supposed to be and fit it right. The big run the other night [versus Clemson] we saw it earlier and fitted it for a one-yard gain. When you mis-fit a run, things like that can happen. We have taken a lot of pride here in stopping the run and being where we supposed to be fitting runs. 

“We mis-fit that run that we had fitted earlier and we just can’t mis-fit those things. We have got to change math and get out of the box.”