N.C. State dropped its sixth straight game on Saturday afternoon, losing to Boston College 38-21 in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The loss drops the Wolfpack to 3-7, 0-7 in the ACC, officially ending its 2013 bowl hopes.
The Wolfpack had trouble containing BC’s bruising senior tailback Andre Williams, who entered the game leading the nation in rushing yards. Williams rolled up 339 rushing yards on the afternoon, eclipsing the century mark before the end of the first quarter.
With the Eagles already up 3-0 in the first quarter, Williams broke off a 17-yard touchdown run, setting the tone for his huge afternoon.
The Pack, which hosts in-state foe East Carolina next Saturday at 12:30 p.m., cut into BC’s lead midway through the second quarter. Senior receiver Rashard Smith scored on an eight yard swing pass, knocking over the pylon at full stretch to pull State within three of the Eagles.
Smith’s score was set up by a screen pass to freshman tailback Matt Dayes, who eluded several would-be tacklers on a 61-yard scamper to put the Pack in the red zone.
The Eagles answered with a crisp 5-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 19-yard run by freshman running back Myles Willis to go up 17-7 with 4:46 remaining in the first half.
The Wolfpack squandered a chance to score just before halftime on a special teams miscue. Williams fumbled with 1:14 left and the Wolfpack recovered at the BC 24-yard line. But junior quarterback Pete Thomas, who threw for 207 yards on Saturday, took a sack on third down. On the ensuing field goal attempt, the snap went over the head of the holder, junior punter Wil Baumann, to keep State’s deficit at 10 going into the locker room.
The Eagles pushed their lead to 20-7 with 2:28 left in the third quarter on a 39-yard field goal by senior kicker Nate Freese, who remained perfect on the season. The Wolfpack’s offense continued to sputter, going three-and-out on the ensuing drive. The Pack didn’t gain a first down in the second half until 9:49 remained in the final period.
First-year head coach Dave Doeren reached into his bag of tricks to trim BC’s lead to six with eight minutes left in the game. Senior receiver Rashard Smith took an end-around handoff and lofted a pass to a wide-open senior receiver Quintin Payton, who hauled in the pass for a 49-yard score. Payton’s third touchdown of the year cut BC’s lead to 20-14.
But the Eagles struck back in bizarre fashion as Williams rumbled 65 yards toward the end zone, before sophomore cornerback Juston Burris knocked the ball loose just short of the goal line. However, BC’s senior receiver Alex Amidon fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The Eagles went for two and converted to increase its lead to 28-14.
A fumble by State’s junior quarterback Pete Thomas at midfield led to a 41-yard field goal by Freese. Sophomore quarterback Garrett Leatham replaced Thomas under center and hit freshman receiver JuMichael Ramos on a 52-yard fly route for a score, but Williams sealed victory for the Eagles on a 34-yard touchdown run with less than a minute to play.