Pack upends Noles
Sophomore quarterback Daniel Evans leads the Wolfpack to a come-from-behind victory for the second straight game. N.C. State overcomes a 10-point, second-half deficit as Evans finishes with three touchdown passes
Chip Alexander, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - Call 'em the Comeback Pack. Go ahead, it fits.
N.C. State knocked off Florida State, again, Thursday night. It came from behind to beat a nationally ranked team, again, at Carter-Finley Stadium.
And Daniel Evans, the sophomore quarterback from Raleigh, was in the middle of it all. Again.
The Wolfpack stopped the 17th-ranked Seminoles
24-20, getting three touchdown passes from Evans, some hard running from tailback Andre Brown and timely stops from its defense. State trailed by 10 points in the second half after a goal-line stop and a 99-yard drive by the Seminoles, but the Pack wouldn't be denied. Again.
"Adversity doesn't bother them," an emotional NCSU coach Chuck Amato said of his players. "They fight back.
"These kids just keeping coming back. These young men, they've got something."
In its last game, the Pack used a last-gasp defensive stand and late touchdown throw by Evans for a 17-15 win over Boston College, then ranked 20th. Now, it has beaten FSU for the fourth time in six games, moving to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC's Atlantic Division.
"We're 2-0 and right where we want to be," Evans said.
Evans was 13-of-22 passing for 190 yards against the Seminoles, the defending ACC champions, who fell to 3-2 and 1-2 in the Atlantic Division. He had TD throws of 16 yards to freshman receiver Donald Bowens, 10 yards to redshirt freshman Geron James and then a 12-yarder to wideout John Dunlap with 10:36 left in the game that proved to be the winner.
Yes, Dunlap again. Against BC, he made the winning TD catch with 8.5 seconds left.
The Pack defense then sealed it on an interception by safety DaJuan Morgan with 2:27 to play. Morgan, one of State's many Florida natives, made a diving catch of a tipped pass at the NCSU 19.
"Coach Amato always says when adversity strikes, it's how you handle it," Morgan said.
Brown, who rushed for 179 yards and two TDs against FSU last year, closed with 113 on 18 carries to give the Pack offensive balance. The Pack's offensive line not only gave Brown room to run but also protected Evans, allowing a lone sack.
"A very disappointing loss," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "Couldn't stop them. That was the big thing. We had a 10-point lead and couldn't stop them.
"Evans is a good kid. He played well. They kind of found themselves in the last few minutes [against Boston College], darn it."
The Noles, who led 13-10 at the half, stopped the Pack's Toney Baker at the 1 in the third period and then put together the long, time-consuming drive. When FSU quarterback Drew Weatherford hit tight end Brandon Warren for a 12-yard score, the Noles had a 20-10 cushion following the extra point.
"We had the goal-line stand and I really thought we had something going when the offense took it down and scored," FSU linebacker Buster Davis said.
But Evans fired the 10-yard TD pass to James, an unlikely star this night, to cap a 65-yard drive. He hit Dunlap to finish off a 58-yard drive.
"They made catch after catch," Davis said. "I've never seen so many great catches in one game."
On State's next possession after Dunlap's score, John Deraney's punt pinned the Noles at the FSU 5 with 5:39 left in the game.
On first down, Weatherford fumbled in the pocket, only to have receiver De'Cody Fagg scoop up the ball, and the Noles moved downfield. But Morgan came up with the pick and the Pack ran out the clock as the crowd of 57,437, so loud for so long, roared in jubilation.
"It was deafening," Amato said. "It affected their quarterback. The fans made our adrenaline go sky high."
Weatherford was 16-for-29 for 249 yards, teaming up with tailback Lorenzo Booker for a 73-yard pass in the first half and later hitting wideout Chris Davis for a 33-yard score. And his TD throw to Warren late in the third period gave the Noles the 10-point cushion.
"You never think you've got them, but you think you might have them," Bowden said.
James, who had made cameos in two games this season, also had two big grabs in the Pack's first TD drive -- for 30 and then 27 yards. Evans hit Bowens on the right side for the TD as State went 80 yards in five plays.
After a 37-17 loss at Southern Mississippi, the Pack was 1-2 this season. But look at State now.
"We were at a point where we could turn it around, or the season could get away from us," senior linebacker Pat Lowery said. "It was make or break. We did some soul-searching."
And found a way to come back. Twice.
Source:
http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/495131.html
Though I'm a Vols fan,
In the ACC,
Ya gotta back the 'Pack!!
Wolfpack upsets Seminoles!!
Wolfpack upsets Seminoles!!
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