They’ll be without QB Leary for 4-6 weeks but this Wolfpack keeps finding ways to win
Don’t tell this N.C. State team what it can’t do.
Chances are the Wolfpack will find a way to prove naysayers wrong. Never under coach Dave Doeren had a team come back from a double-digit deficit. Doeren was 0-30 in ACC games when he trailed by 10.
Against the Blue Devils, the Wolfpack trailed by 10 early in the second quarter and, thanks to some self-inflicted wounds, six at halftime. But N.C. State showed a resilience that has been missing from Doeren-led teams in the past.
“The difference was us beating us,” Doeren said.
N.C. State got some bad news on Sunday when it found out that starting quarterback Devin Leary will miss the next 4-8 weeks after having surgery to repair a broken fibula. Leary suffered the injury against Duke on a hit by Lummie Young IV. Young was ejected for targeting.
Earlier Saturday, Doeren looked his team in the eyes at halftime and told them if they just played football and “stopped being idiots” they would win.
The Wolfpack took that message to heart and pitched a second-half shutout, defeating Duke, 31-20, Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium. With the win, N.C. State improves to 4-1 overall, the four wins matching the number of wins from a year ago. The Wolfpack has won three in a row after getting blown out by Virginia Tech in Week 2, and each victory has looked different.
Against Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, the team jumped out to big leads and had to hold off its opponents late. At Virginia last weekend, the Wolfpack traded blows with the Cavaliers early, but never felt seriously threatened.
Against the Blue Devils (1-5, 1-5), it felt like the old N.C. State was back just in time for a two-game slate versus in-state rivals. Duke scored its first touchdown on a blocked punt that was scooped up by Dorian Mausi and returned for a score.
Zonovan Knight fumbled on the next Wolfpack possession. On N.C. State’s last possession of the first half, Devin Leary threw an interception to Jeremiah Lewis. The Blue Devils built a 17-7 lead in the second quarter with a backbreaking, 16-play, 89-yard drive that was just as much State’s own doing as it was Duke’s execution.
The Wolfpack had the Blue Devils stopped facing a fourth-and-3 from their own 18. Duke punted but N.C State was called for roughing the kicker. Later on the drive, Savion Jackson was called for a personal foul. N.C. State shot itself in the foot twice and Duke made it pay. Even after State blocked a punt of its own (second game straight Vi Jones blocked a punt) and Max Fisher scooped and scored to make it 17-14, the Wolfpack couldn’t get out of its own way.
Offensive guard Joe Schultorpe was called for a personal foul on the extra point. Duke wasted little time getting into N.C. State territory, and Payton Wilson pushed Chase Brice out of bounds, more free yards for the Blue Devils. The Wolfpack held Duke to a field goal, and the Blue Devils led 20-14 at the break. It was the last time they would score all night.
“Going into halftime we were just frustrated because of what was going on,” running back Ricky Person said. “We were just hurting ourselves. We were telling each other we had to fix it. We came out (in the second half) and just did what we needed to do.”
NCSU different in the second half
The second half didn’t come without its challenges. Leary, who was just heating up and had given N.C. State its first lead, 21-20, after a 6-yard pass to tight end Cary Angeline, was injured on the next drive. Duke’s Lummie Young IV hit Leary as he slid and the redshirt sophomore quarterback was carted off the field with a lower-leg injury.
Bailey Hockman came in and led the Wolfpack on two scoring drives, enough to seal the deal. Hockman threw a touchdown pass to Thayer Thomas, who pinned the ball on the side of his helmet in the back corner of the end zone. Thomas, the graduate wideout from Wake Forest, has been here on teams that were really, really good, but was also around for last season’s four-win campaign. He has seen a lot and knows the come-from-behind win for this team was a huge step forward in its growth.
“I’ve been here when we were really good, when we had Ryan Finley, Kelvin Harmon, those guys,” Thomas said. “Just being around those teams, you never really counted us out. Going from that to last year, we faced a lot of adversity as a team. We have experience on how to win games and how to lose games. I feel this team is so close because we’ve gone through so much adversity together.”
Thomas said the team has heard about outsiders making fun of N.C. State, claiming the Wolfpack wouldn’t win any games this year.
“That fuels us and brings us closer together,” Thomas said. “We have a chip on our shoulder every time we go out there. I can see it in our eyes, I can see it in the way we are playing. We are playing hard, tough and together.”
Smarter, resilient Wolfpack
In the second half, the Wolfpack played smarter, too.
State had eight penalties for 106 yards in the first half. The Wolfpack didn’t have any flags after halftime.
State got the running game going, feeding Person (15 carries, 84 yards) and Knight (10-44). Mainly, though, it was the defense. Duke’s six drives in the second half went like this: turnover on downs, interception (Payton Wilson), punt, punt, punt, interception (Jaylon Scott) and missed field goal.
After running all over Syracuse a week ago, the Wolfpack held Duke to 129 yards on the ground.
The defense forced three interceptions total, two by Wilson, and for the second straight week carried the load until the offense got going.
“The defense was kind of performing all game,” Wilson said. “It was just special teams mistakes and turnovers that really got us.”
Wilson finished with a career-high 19 tackles and all three linebackers finished with double-digit stops.
The defense was playing without both starting safeties after Jakeen Harris was ejected and Tanner Ingle went out with an injury. They were replaced by a true freshman, Devan Boykins, and a former walk-on, Isaac Duffy, who more than held their own. It was more adversity, but this N.C. State once again proved it’s built for challenges.
“Proud of the fight in our team,” Doeren said. “Guys just being resilient. It was a great comeback win, guys just kept responding. I think our confidence is high, we handle adversity well. There isn’t any flinch. It’s a very confident group, and I think they’ll be excited this week for what’s coming up in another in-state opponent.”
ACC STANDINGS
1. Clemson 4-0 (5-0)
2. Notre Dame 3-0 (4-0)
3. N.C. State 4-1 (4-1)
T4. UNC 3-1 (3-1)
T4. Miami 3-1 (4-1)
T4. Virginia Tech 3-1 (3-1)
T7. Boston College 2-2 (3-2)
T7. Georgia Tech 2-2 (2-3)
9. Pittsburgh 2-3 (3-3)
10. Wake Forest 1-2 (2-2)
T11. Florida State 1-3 (2-3)
T11. Virginia 1-3 (1-3)
T11. Syracuse 1-3 (1-4)
14. Duke 1-5 (1-5)
T15. Louisville 0-4 (1-4)
Saturday’s Major College football scores
EAST
Liberty 38, Syracuse 21
Temple 39, South Florida 37
West Virginia 38, Kansas 17
SOUTH
Alabama 41, Georgia 24
Clemson 73, Georgia Tech 7
Florida St. 31, North Carolina 28
Georgia Southern 41, UMass 0
Kentucky 34, Tennessee 7
Marshall 35, Louisiana Tech 17
Memphis 50, UCF 49
Miami 31, Pittsburgh 19
NC State 31, Duke 20
Navy 27, East Carolina 23
North Texas 52, Middle Tennessee 35
South Alabama 30, Texas State 20
South Carolina 30, Auburn 22
Texas A&M 28, Mississippi St. 14
Troy 31, E. Kentucky 29
UAB 37, W. Kentucky 14
Virginia Tech 40, Boston College 14
Wake Forest 40, Virginia 23
MIDWEST
Notre Dame 12, Louisville 7
SOUTHWEST
Arkansas 33, Mississippi 21
Army 28, UTSA 16
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "They’ll be without QB Leary for 4-6 weeks but this Wolfpack keeps finding ways to win."
