Written by Erik Slaby
Raleigh, NC - On a cool, sunny afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium and in the second game of Atlantic Coast Conference play for the North Carolina State University Wolfpack, the Wolfpack defeated the Syracuse University Orange by a score of 33-25. This moved NC State to 2-0 in conference play for the first time in 11 years. NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke after the game about that feat.
"I was really, really happy," Doeren said. "I was ecstatic, you know? I told the team, you have a choice. We're trying to leave a legacy with our senior class. We haven't been 2-0 in the conference in 11 years, and our senior class did that. I told them in practice this week, they were going to have to be great leaders this week, and they did a great job with that."
While the final score seemed close, that was not the case. NC State dominated the first half of action while weathering a minor storm from Syracuse in the second half but even then, it felt like NC State was always in control. From the opening kickoff, it looked like Syracuse was going to be in for a long day when kicker Cole Murphy hooked his kick to the left, and it sailed out of bounds. That gave NC State the ball on their own 35-yard line, where they then proceeded to go on a 15 play, 57-yard drive that ended in a field goal by kicker Carson Wise.
On Syracuse's first offensive series, their woes continued. On the second play from scrimmage, quarterback Eric Dungey's pass was intercepted by NC State defensive back Jonathan Alston. This turnover gave NC State great field position on their own 43-yard line. The drive for NC State ended similarly to their previous drive as they were forced to kick another field goal, bringing the score to 6-0.
With 25 seconds left in the first quarter, NC State scored the first touchdown of the game on a beautiful 20-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Finley to wide receiver Stephen Louis. Syracuse seemed to wake up a bit after that touchdown by NC State and put together their own scoring drive. The ten play, 75-yard drive ended with a seven-yard run by Dungey that ended in the end zone after a couple of nice spin moves. The score was now 13-7 and it seemed like momentum had shifted completely to Syracuse. But NC State still had something to say about that.
On the next drive, running back Nyheim Hines led the way with four carries for 65 yards, highlighted by a 39-yard run that flipped the field. Two plays later, fellow running back Reggie Gallaspy powered his way into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. From that point on, even though Syracuse was able to score later in the game, it felt like the final nail in the coffin and NC State never looked back.
In the second half, Syracuse was able to outscore NC State 18-7 but it was too little, too late. Whenever it would look like Syracuse might make a comeback, the NC State defense would stand strong and force a punt, or turnover on downs. Doeren spoke briefly about this after the game.
"It was pretty in the second half at all, but we got to 2-0 in ACC play," Doeren said. "Defensively, we knew it was going to be tough. They average 35 points a game, and we held them to 25."
NC State was led offensively by Hines who had 19 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown. When the game got close, and NC State needed to start running out the clock, Hines was able to churn out those hard yards to keep the chains moving and the clock running. Finley was also key for NC State in managing the offense, and he completed 20 of 33 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, NC State was led by defensive lineman Bradley Chubb as he was constantly in the Syracuse backfield, or around the ball wreaking havoc. He finished with eight tackles and two sacks. Linebacker Jerod Fernandez led the team in tackles with 14, and he was a force in the middle of the field.
Syracuse was led by Dungey who completed 30 of 47 passes for 385 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 44 yards net and two touchdowns. Without Dungey, this would've been a much different game for Syracuse, and the final score likely wouldn't have been so close.
NC State cannot afford to enjoy this victory for too long as they have a difficult opponent coming up in the Louisville Cardinals next week. To make matters even more difficult, the game is on Thursday night, so NC State does not have much time to prepare. If NC State can beat Louisville, they will immediately be a team to watch for in the ACC Championship race.
"I was really, really happy," Doeren said. "I was ecstatic, you know? I told the team, you have a choice. We're trying to leave a legacy with our senior class. We haven't been 2-0 in the conference in 11 years, and our senior class did that. I told them in practice this week, they were going to have to be great leaders this week, and they did a great job with that."
While the final score seemed close, that was not the case. NC State dominated the first half of action while weathering a minor storm from Syracuse in the second half but even then, it felt like NC State was always in control. From the opening kickoff, it looked like Syracuse was going to be in for a long day when kicker Cole Murphy hooked his kick to the left, and it sailed out of bounds. That gave NC State the ball on their own 35-yard line, where they then proceeded to go on a 15 play, 57-yard drive that ended in a field goal by kicker Carson Wise.
On Syracuse's first offensive series, their woes continued. On the second play from scrimmage, quarterback Eric Dungey's pass was intercepted by NC State defensive back Jonathan Alston. This turnover gave NC State great field position on their own 43-yard line. The drive for NC State ended similarly to their previous drive as they were forced to kick another field goal, bringing the score to 6-0.
With 25 seconds left in the first quarter, NC State scored the first touchdown of the game on a beautiful 20-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Finley to wide receiver Stephen Louis. Syracuse seemed to wake up a bit after that touchdown by NC State and put together their own scoring drive. The ten play, 75-yard drive ended with a seven-yard run by Dungey that ended in the end zone after a couple of nice spin moves. The score was now 13-7 and it seemed like momentum had shifted completely to Syracuse. But NC State still had something to say about that.
On the next drive, running back Nyheim Hines led the way with four carries for 65 yards, highlighted by a 39-yard run that flipped the field. Two plays later, fellow running back Reggie Gallaspy powered his way into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. From that point on, even though Syracuse was able to score later in the game, it felt like the final nail in the coffin and NC State never looked back.
In the second half, Syracuse was able to outscore NC State 18-7 but it was too little, too late. Whenever it would look like Syracuse might make a comeback, the NC State defense would stand strong and force a punt, or turnover on downs. Doeren spoke briefly about this after the game.
"It was pretty in the second half at all, but we got to 2-0 in ACC play," Doeren said. "Defensively, we knew it was going to be tough. They average 35 points a game, and we held them to 25."
NC State was led offensively by Hines who had 19 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown. When the game got close, and NC State needed to start running out the clock, Hines was able to churn out those hard yards to keep the chains moving and the clock running. Finley was also key for NC State in managing the offense, and he completed 20 of 33 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, NC State was led by defensive lineman Bradley Chubb as he was constantly in the Syracuse backfield, or around the ball wreaking havoc. He finished with eight tackles and two sacks. Linebacker Jerod Fernandez led the team in tackles with 14, and he was a force in the middle of the field.
Syracuse was led by Dungey who completed 30 of 47 passes for 385 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 44 yards net and two touchdowns. Without Dungey, this would've been a much different game for Syracuse, and the final score likely wouldn't have been so close.
NC State cannot afford to enjoy this victory for too long as they have a difficult opponent coming up in the Louisville Cardinals next week. To make matters even more difficult, the game is on Thursday night, so NC State does not have much time to prepare. If NC State can beat Louisville, they will immediately be a team to watch for in the ACC Championship race.