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RALEIGH (AP) — Tom O'Brien spent a decade at Boston College, so the N.C. State football coach has a pretty good idea how the Eagles will try to beat his defense.

"(BC quarterback David Shinskie) is probably licking his chops after the last two games, watching us play pass defense," O'Brien said Monday.

Then again, it probably didn't take much more than a quick glance at the stats sheet.

N.C. State's stint as the nation's top-ranked best defense? That's history, after Wake Forest's Riley Skinner and Duke's Thaddeus Lewis torched the Wolfpack (3-3, 0-2 ACC) in back-to-back games. State gave up a combined 820 yards passing and 79 points in a pair of losses.

"It's about time that we stood up, became accountable for ourselves and start tackling people and get off the field," O'Brien said.

That certainly hasn't happened frequently enough lately for the Pack.

Skinner was first to light up the State secondary, throwing for 361 yards and three touchdowns in beating the Pack 30-24 and prompting O'Brien to replace three starters in the defensive backfield.

That didn't seem to help much against Duke. Lewis was 40-of-50 against them for 459 yards and five touchdowns to help the Blue Devils win 49-28.

Suddenly, the nation's once-No. 1 defense slipped to No. 19 overall and 101st in pass efficiency, and put pressure on the offense to outscore opponents.

"We felt like, coming into the game, like we were going to have to put up points regardless," running back Jamelle Eugene said of he Duke game. "That's our mindset each and every week. We've got to match a score with a touchdown or no score with a touchdown. That was the pressure we put on ourselves from the get-go."

Saturday's poor performance prompted another change. One of the new starters in the secondary — cornerback Justin Byers — has been replaced by freshman Rashard Smith, one of four freshman defensive backs on depth chart, for the BC game.

While O'Brien's got them lined up to his liking, he's still looking for improved effort and execution.

"Certainly, when you're in position, you've got to be able to get a guy on the ground," O'Brien said. "Whether we don't have the right guys that can do that, we're going to find out. We've finally got the secondary aligned the way we want to. We'll see if we're better, and if we're not, we're certainly going to go recruit guys. ... I think the future's bright, but the future is in Boston (this) Saturday."

Part of State's problem has been poor tackling, O'Brien said. On multiple occasions the Pack seemed to have Duke stopped on third downs -- only to miss a tackle and allow the Blue Devils to sustain drives.

"This whole year, it seems like we've been inconsistent when it comes to tackling," safety Clem Johnson said. "In my opinion, tackling is just a want, you know? If you want to tackle, you're going to go out there and tackle. Yeah, there's technique involved, but it comes down to a want.

"I think guys just really had high expectations for the season, and ... guys just kind of expected to have things given to them. We really have to start earning the respect and just kind of going out there and just proving that we can tackle, and proving that we can get the job done."