Big second half from Bailey Hockman leads NC State to wild road win over Syracuse
Bailey Hockman found a way to redeem himself in the second half versus Syracuse.
After a forgettable first half, Hockman, the N.C. State junior quarterback, threw three second half touchdowns to lead the Wolfpack to a 36-29 come-from-behind victory over the Orange.
“Proud of our guys for overcoming a lot of mishaps,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said after the game. “This team just fights and they find a way to win. Winning ugly’s OK, it’s a lot better than losing, I’ll tell you that, so we’ll take it.”
The Wolfpack played mistake-free football in the second half, with zero turnovers, and the defense locked in when it counted the most. The big turnaround came from Hockman, who didn’t get rattled by his first-half performance and led the team to three touchdown drives in the second half.
Hockman threw two scores to Thayer Thomas and one to Emeke Emezie in the second half. He threw a first-half touchdown to Thomas, but turned the ball over way too many times, which allowed Syracuse to lead by eight at the break.
“I was proud of the way he bounced back,” Doeren said. “Thought he did a really nice job at halftime settling in, just gave our receivers a chance to make plays and they made them.”
But a combination of Hockman’s revival and the N.C. State (7-3, 6-3 ACC) defense led to win No. 7 for Dave Doeren and crew. The Wolfpack defense made the Orange ground game non-existent and forced three consecutive three-and-outs at one point in the second half.
Rex Culpepper’s spike to end the game
Syracuse had a chance to at least tie the game in the final moments, but Payton Wilson sacked Orange quarterback Rex Culpepper on third down. As the clock ticked down, Culpepper spiked the ball on fourth down with one second remaining. After giving up a late, game-winning drive to Miami a few weeks ago, Wilson said the defense has been looking for another opportunity to redeem themselves.
“We’ve been looking forward to getting that stop and not putting it all on the offense like we’ve done in the past,” Wilson said after the game. “I wouldn’t say it was nerve racking, we were anxious to get out there and prove what we can finally do.”
The Orange went up nine in the third when Culpepper threw his second touchdown of the day. Culpepper found Taj Harris in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard score.
But the Wolfpack had an answer in the form of Hockman and Thomas. The duo completed the hat trick when Hockman found Thomas in the back corner of the end zone for a nine-yard score, giving N.C. State a 29-27 lead midway through the third. That was the score heading into the fourth quarter. The Wolfpack started the final quarter with the ball in Syracuse territory and the drive ended with Hockman finding Emezie for a 26-yard score.
“For me it was just (to) keep going 1-0,” Hockman said about shaking off the first half. “Coach (Tim) Beck tells me that after ever drive. I just tried to keep playing my game, keep making good decisions. It just worked out like that.”
Bailey Hockman in the first half
The Orange (1-9, 1-8) made things interesting in the first half, playing their final game at home.
Syracuse didn’t play like a one-win team in the first half. The Orange scored 13 unanswered points to go ahead 13-7 early in the second quarter. After Hockman hit Thomas for a 15-yard score to put State back in front, 14-13, the Orange turned up the heat in the dome.
Syracuse scored nine points in 11 seconds, starting with a 60-yard bomb from Culpepper to Nykeim Johnson. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Bam Knight took the ball out of the end zone and was tackled at the three. On the next play, the Syracuse defense got to Hockman again. Instead of throwing the ball away in the field of play, Hockman threw it out the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety, putting Syracuse up 22-14.
It was the third major error for Hockman in the first half.
First, with a chance to go up two touchdowns, Hockman fumbled the ball at the one. The ball went out the back of the end zone, resulting in a touchback. Hockman also threw an interception to Mikel Jones on the first drive of the second quarter for the Pack. N.C. State held Syracuse to a field goal after the turnover.
Besides the 60-yard score, the Wolfpack defense was solid in the first half. The Orange scored six points on a kickoff return, got two field goals and a safety. Syracuse only had one yard rushing in the first half and at one point Culpepper threw six straight incomplete passes. But N.C. State couldn’t get out of its own way - the interception, the fumble, the safety - and couldn’t protect Hockman in the first half (four sacks).
Dave Doeren’s halftime speech
Wilson said the halftime speech from Doeren was an honest one, but it was what the team needed to snap out of their funk.
“Coach Doeren keeps it simple,” Wilson said. “He tells us that we are beating ourselves. Offense wasn’t executing right, defense was making mental mistakes. He got upset a little bit, but it was something that we needed.”
The team also needed Hockman to get better and he did.
Hockman finished the game with 313 yards, his first 300-yard game at N.C. State. Hockman’s lone ACC win as a starter last season came against Syracuse in Raleigh. Since taking over for Devin Leary, Hockman is 3-2 as a starter.
The Wolfpack improved to 12-2 all-time over Syracuse.
N.C. State closes out the regular season next weekend at home against Georgia Tech. Doeren said the Orange played like he expected considering it was their senior day, and he expects the same from his team next week.
“We got a team that was playing for their senior class in their last home game,” Doeren said. “Hopefully I’ll get the same out of our guys next week in their senior game.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Big second half from Bailey Hockman leads NC State to wild road win over Syracuse."
