N.C. State dropped its first road game of the season on Saturday, falling to Wake Forest, 28-13.
The Wolfpack allowed Wake quarterback Tanner Price to throw for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. Two of those touchdowns were to star receiver Michael Campanaro.
Wake outgained State 382-372 and held the Pack’s running game to 115 yards. Redshirt junior quarterback Pete Thomas was State’s leading rusher with 60 yards on 15 attempts. Thomas also completed 27-of-43 passes for 257 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Deacons struck first with 2:14 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Price to take a 7-0 lead. Price accounted for 82 of Wake’s 114 rushing yards on the day.
Junior placekicker Niklas Sade put the Pack on the board with 27-yard field goal with 8:28 remaining in the second quarter. The key play on the drive was a 22-yard run by Thomas on a quarterback draw.
State took a 10-7 lead 39 seconds before halftime on a touchdown pass from Thomas to senior receiver Quinton Payton from 11 yards out. The pass capped a 10-play, 66-yard drive that took only 1:26 off the clock.
However, Wake quickly answered when Price hit Stephen Bishop on a 54-yard pass to the State 10 on the first play of the next drive for the Deacs. That set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Campanaro on third-and-goal to give the hosts a 14-10 lead heading into the locker room. Campanaro had seven catches for 60 yards in the first half.
State lost a pair of contributors, one on each side of the ball, in the first half. Senior receiver Rashard Smith exited after returning a kick in the first quarter and senior safety Jarvis Byrd was injured in the second quarter. Neither player returned to the game.
Price drove the Deacs to the red zone on the opening possession of the second half, but the Pack defense held, stopping Price short of the marker on third down. On the ensuing field goal attempt, senior linebacker Robert Caldwell slammed into Wake kicker Chad Hedlund, one of eight Pack penalties. Wake took the three points off the board and received a first-and-goal on the State three-yard line. They capitalized on the next play when Price hit Jared Crump to extend the lead to 21-10.
Thomas led the Pack to the Wake three-yard line on the next possession, but State couldn’t cross the goal line and had to settle for Sade’s 20-yard field goal.
Senior cornerback Dontae Johnson did his best to swing the momentum in State’s favor as he picked off a Price pass in Wolfpack territory with three minutes left in the third quarter, but the Pack went three-and-out on the ensuing drive.
Campanaro torched the State secondary once again with 10:43 left in the game, making an over-the-shoulder catch from 27 yards out to push the Deacon lead to 28-13. State pushed into Wake territory on the next drive, but Thomas was intercepted by cornerback Kevin Johnson with 7:10 left, sealing the win for Wake Forest.
State will return home to face Syracuse next Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
