Greg McElroy slammed NC State's defense for its poor tackling and undisciplined play in the first half against Clemson. Credit: CFB on ABC/ESPN
By Sam Neumann on

Greg McElroy had just about enough of NC State’s effort in the first half of its Week 4 matchup against Clemson.

On the call alongside Sean McDonough — we don’t know if they matched on purpose either — he took the Wolfpack to task for what he lamented as an “unrecognizable” defense from Dave Doeren’s team. Yes, NC State was playing its backup quarterback, freshman C.J. Bailey, but he wasn’t the problem on Saturday; the defense was running porous.

Clemson did exactly what it did to App State in a 66-20 rout just a few weeks ago; the Tigers rifled off 28 points in the first quarter, recording explosive play after explosive play, taking advantage of mistakes, and letting NC State shoot itself in the foot.

That last part is the straw that broke the camel’s back for the former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback. While Clemson took a 45-7 lead into the break, it would’ve been more manageable if the Wolfpack could tackle. On the first play of a drive with just over four minutes to play in the second frame, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik connected with wide receiver Troy Stellato for a 25-yard gain.

And after a couple of missed tackles along the way, McElroy let loose.

“Some of the tackling so far from NC State has been just terrible,” he said. “I mean, I don’t know what else to tell you. That is awful by (senior safety DK) Kaufman. I mean, no wrap-up? You just hit him with the shoulder, and he keeps running.”

McElroy wasn’t finished with his monologue.

A few plays later, he had a few choice words for the state of the program’s defense, saying, “The way their defense is playing, man, this is completely unrecognizable of a Dave Doeren-coached team. They are a proud group. Tony Gibson’s an excellent defensive coordinator, but my goodness, man, the bad angles, the missed pursuit, not leveraging the football, the missed tackles, this is unrecognizable for people who have watched this program for a decade-plus.”

For a program known for its defensive discipline, this performance left McElroy—and likely many others—stunned.

Clemson’s offense looked great against App State. But is the Tigers’ offense this good, or is it a product of NC State’s defense being this bad?

[Awful Announcing]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann