As North Carolina State prepares for a free weekend, the Wolfpack will be looking to shore up its line play before the team takes on Florida State on Oct. 16.

It's a huge game on national television against a high-profile squad that NCSU has had a lot of success against recently. The Seminoles may have just beaten Miami on the road, but the win loses a little of its luster because FSU had to hold on for dear life after taking a big lead into halftime.

If the Wolfpack are going to impress the ESPN folks, however, it'll have to address the deficiencies that have shown up all season and were very stark against Boston College. On both sides of the ball, NCSU gives up ground on the line of scrimmage.

Boston College stifled the State running game, holding the team to 35 rushing yards. It also sacked quarterback Russell Wilson five times, and never gave him much time to throw.

On the other side of the football, the Pack defensive line got one sack and few pressures against QB Chris Crane. With no pressure, facing a zone defense, Crane went to town and led an attack that finished with close to 600 total yards. And nobody is confusing Crane with former Eagle and current Atlanta Falcons starter Matt Ryan. This was just a bad effort by the defense.

NCSU has its usual injury problems that the time off will hopefully cure. Wilson and tight end Anthony Hill are back, and if Nate Irving can return soon, that will be a big boost to the defense. But along with getting healthy, the Pack need to figure out how to at least hold their own in the trenches in order to be strong in the ACC.

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