NC State has a tough assignment playing at Clemson against a team that is averaging 28 points – in the first half alone.

“They’re so explosive on offense,” Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said. “What they’ve done is they’ve come out and jumped on people right away. I don’t know if you can stop them. I think you have to try to contain them and slow them down.”

O’Brien said a lot of their big plays come off the play-action pass and run fakes. “Certainly you just have to try to control what they do and not give up the big explosive plays that they’re so good at.”

That’s something that hasn’t really be done this season.

“They’ve lost one game on the road to Florida State. They’ve been undefeated I think probably two years at home,” O’Brien said. “Certainly it’s a tough venue to play in. They feed off their crowd, and they have so many big play guys, a quarterback that can beat you with arm or leg, tailbacks catch the ball and run with it, and same thing with their wide receivers. There’s not any one area that you say they’re weak in. They’re strong in all areas, and they put a lot of pressure on your defense.”