NC State upset by performance vs. Notre Dame, QB Brennan Armstrong critical of himself

Panels in N.C. State’s new $15 million scoreboard experienced technical difficulties during the mid-game rain delay on Saturday, with panels shorting on and off, for the remainder of the day.

That seemed like an accurate representation of the team’s performance on the field: only partially functional.

The Wolfpack (1-1) fell to No. 10 Notre Dame (3-0), 45-24, in its home opener. It didn’t feel like any phase of the team fully clicked.

Quarterback Brennan Armstrong completed 22-of-47 passes, throwing three interceptions. His receivers didn’t help out, either, dropping passes or not fighting defenders hard enough.

The defense recorded four tackles and two fumbles, but it also allowed five passing plays of 15 yards or more and three rushing plays of 10 yards or more.

Special teams was the most consistent — with the returners combining for 93 yards and punter Caden Noonkester averaging 40.5 yards per attempt — but still wasn’t perfect. Kicker Brayden Narveson went 1-for-2 on his field-goal attempts, making a 49-yarder but not the attempt from 34.

Armstrong took accountability for the offense and his personal mistakes, which added up.

“I played like crap,” Armstrong said plainly. “I threw three picks. You’re not gonna win the game if you put your defense in a tough spot.”

The captain said the offense didn’t help the defense “at all,” wasting turnovers and good field position. He specifically mentioned the team’s first drive that started on the Notre Dame 49-yard line and resulted in no points and a missed field goal after a fumble recovery.

“We just put our defense in terrible situations. We never helped them out,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t play complementary football and that’s what Coach (Dave Doeren) talked about a lot.”

Meanwhile, linebacker Payton Wilson didn’t feel like the loss was solely on the offense. There were busted plays again on defense. The Pack shouldn’t have given up a one-play, 80-yard touchdown right after it returned from the weather delay. It shouldn’t have let the Irish go 3-for-3 in the red zone.

There were many issues on Wilson’s side of the ball, just like there were issues on Armstrong’s.

“This is a crucial time in our season. It’s obviously a long season and (the loss) hurts,” Wilson said. “We can’t go pointing fingers. Defense can’t blame offense, offense can’t blame defense, because that’s just how everything breaks up. It’s huge right now to love on one another and to take constructive criticism. But, at the end of the day, we’ve got to move past it.”

The players don’t want the team to splinter or hang their heads in shame, as disappointing as the outing was.

Wilson pointed to the 2019 team’s struggles, saying many of them were due to a lack of team leadership. N.C. State didn’t have the necessary balance of accountability and positivity.

This time, everyone hopes to see the team come together and return to the field next Saturday better than it was this week. Hopefully, that’s what happens.

“We got some guys playing with really bad technique at times, poor eyes at times. We (have) a lot to fix,” Doeren said. “I think it’s gonna be great film. I really do; a lot to learn from. Games like this are not lost by any one person or player or coach. They’re lost by teams, and they’re won by teams. This will be a team loss that we have to look at.”