NC State smokes Richmond, 73-0

NC State spent almost two weeks getting angry about football, and it showed, as the Wolfpack jumped on Richmond for 21 points in the first quarter and never had anything to worry about after that. The work wasn’t difficult for the offense in that first quarter, and Richmond was DOA, and the rest was just making sure no one died.

This game was never competitive in any respect. Duke Scott scooted home for a long touchdown off the right side during State’s second possession, and he ended up with over 100 yards in the first quarter, and if that’s not enough to tell you about the run of play, then you weren’t paying attention. State crushed the line of scrimmage and Richmond tried to make arm tackles. It did not work.

CJ Bailey didn’t have a lot to do under these circumstances, obviously, but made good throws on the few passing downs he had to handle. He spent more than half the game on the sideline, but prior to that, hit on a couple of important throws in third-down situations.

But this was an exhibition game, clearly. It trended in that direction a lot faster than I would have guessed, and State piled up a whole lot of yards a lot faster than I would have thought possible. Richmond was really bad in this game—really, really bad. The one time they had like three good plays in a row they did like a triple lateral play and turned it over. Which I do not recommend.

So there’s not much you can take from this; there’s nothing in particular you can learn here. This matchup was so lopsided that the teams agreed to a 10-minute fourth quarter.

On the other hand, there has never been a Dave Doeren team that has had to try not to score 70 points. This is an entirely preposterous notion. Seventy points? I beg your pardon?

This is a take-what-you-want game, a necessary bit of exhibition work that will mean whatever you decide that it means to you and for this season. Putting 70 points on an opponent and having to slow down to do it—weather aside—is pretty wild.