jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
RALEIGH -- Wake Forest provided N.C. State with a preview of what Duke might throw at the Wolfpack on Saturday, according to Coach Tom O'Brien.
The Demon Deacons, with veteran quarterback Riley Skinner, attempted 45 passes against the Wolfpack to test an extremely young secondary. O'Brien said he intends to make some personnel shifts to shore up his secondary after Wake Forest was able to make some big plays through the air.
O'Brien said he does not want a repeat performance against the Blue Devils (4 p.m., ESPNU), who have Thaddeus Lewis seemingly back at full strength.
"Certainly, we're going to make some changes," O'Brien said. "The freshmen were a bit overwhelmed by the scope of the game. We're going to go with a little more experience this week."
Injuries during the first four weeks of the season necessitated the young lineup that O'Brien used in the defensive backfield against Wake Forest, but the depth chart heading into the game against Duke has Clem Johnson and Bobby Floyd at the safety positions and Justin Byer and either C.J. Wilson or DeAndre Morgan at corner.
That means Koyal George, Brandon Bishop and Earl Wolff will go back to reserve roles.
O'Brien said Lewis looks a lot better and more comfortable leading Duke's attack now than he did earlier in the season.
"I don't think he was totally healthy, and that really can affect how well you throw the ball," O'Brien said. "Looking at it from an outsider, that's what I see."
One thing O'Brien liked against Wake Forest was the play of his defensive line. It was able to get a good rush on Skinner and sacked him seven times. O'Brien said a similar effort will be needed to contain Lewis.
"If we couldn't rush the passer, it would have been a whole lot worse," O'Brien said.
The Wolfpack's defense held Wake Forest to 30 rushing yards, but O'Brien said that was a bit deceiving because the Demon Deacons had committed to throwing the ball.
"It wasn't like they lined up and tried to run the ball," O'Brien said.
Before the Wake Forest game, N.C. State's defense led the nation with the fewest yards allowed per game at 201.2. Even though the Demon Deacons racked up 391 yards, the Wolfpack still leads the ACC in this category while slipping to sixth nationally.
Senior defensive end Willie Young said he is looking forward to playing Duke and that the troubles the secondary faced against Wake Forest will settle down.
"It's going to be a challenge for the secondary to clean up their mistakes," Young said. "We're going to have to buckle down."
Young is closing in on the N.C. State record for sacks held by Mario Williams. Young, who had three sacks against the Demon Deacs, has 19.5 sacks and needs seven to overtake Williams.
