NC State took its first game of the season in comeback fashion, defeating a surprisingly tough Georgia Southern team, 24-23. After trailing for the entire game, redshirt senior Jacoby Brissett led the Wolfpack on a game-winning drive, eventually connecting with sophomore running back Matt Dayes for the go-ahead touchdown with fewer than two minutes remaining.
“I was as happy as a coach could be,” State Head Coach Dave Doeren said.
From the opening kickoff, rust was clearly visible in the Pack’s play. After forcing the Eagles to go three-and-out, State took over at its own 29-yard line but failed to make anything happen on offense. The team was forced to punt three plays later.
Southern drew first blood in Sunday’s contest, orchestrating a six-play, 82-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by the 61-yard scoring run from sophomore running back Matt Breida.
With 5:45 left in the second quarter, the Eagles struck again. Led by sophomore quarterback Kevin Ellison, the team marched 65 yards to score its second touchdown of the half, burning nearly all the time off the clock in the process. Ellison connected with senior wide out Kentrellis Showers for a 29-yard touchdown with just 34 ticks left.
“I was disappointed in two long plays,” Doeren said. “We can’t give up long plays.”
After a missed 54-yard field goal attempt, the State players headed to the locker room 14 points down and on pace for a major embarrassment in their season opener. Doeren said when he addressed his players at halftime, he simply “told them the truth.”
“I said, ‘Did you guys do all this work this summer for this?’,” Doeren said. “I said, ‘Just do what you’re supposed to do: execute. Be who you are.’ Because we weren’t; we were a shell of ourselves in the first half. And they heard me and they responded; that’s leadership right there.”
The team quickly responded to Doeren’s words, striking first in the second half. Brissett tossed a long ball 42 yards to freshman tight end Jaylen Samuels, leading the Pack to the red zone for the first time in the contest. Two plays later, Brissett connected with sophomore wide receiver Bra’Lon Cherry in the corner of the end zone for the team’s first touchdown.
The Pack offense, now with a bit of momentum on its side, drove the ball to Southern nine-yard line on its following possession. Down 10 points, the team took an ill-advised gamble on fourth-and-one and came up short.
Following the turnover, Ellison and Breida led the Eagles 90 yards in the opposite direction, finding themselves facing a second-and-goal from the one-yard line. With a touchdown, Southern would have been able to put the game out of reach.
However, Ellison coughed up the ball on a QB sneak up the middle, and senior defensive tackle Monty Nelson recovered the loose ball.
The resulting drive was a masterpiece; the Pack traveled 99 yards in just under seven minutes to shorten its deficit to three. Doeren said the drive wore on the Southern defense and opened the door for a Pack comeback.
“Their defensive kids were tired,” Doeren said. “They kept falling down to stop our drives, and we just kept going and going. That’s a back-breaker on a defense, especially after a turnover on a drive that could have put the game away for them.”
Managing to hold Southern to a field goal on the ensuing drive, State had 3:35 to travel 75 yards for the winning touchdown. However, the drive only lasted 1:58, as Dayes made a diving touchdown to give State its first lead of the contest.
During the final two drives, freshman wideout Bo Hines made six of his game-high nine catches, all off of quick slant routes. The Pack’s fast-paced attack put the Southern defense on its heels.
“They had their outside linebackers way outside the box and we took advantage of it,” Doeren said. “It was a good job by [Offensive Coordinator Matt] Canada to recognize that set and take advantage of it.”
The Eagles had one final chance at a comeback with 1:37 remaining in the game. After a short rush and two incomplete passes, Southern faced fourth down. Ellison attempted a pass across the middle of the field, but the graduate student safety Jarvis Byrd made the final deflection to seal the game for the Pack.
“It was like a dream come true,” Byrd said.
The team will try to improve its record to 2-0 on Saturday against Old Dominion. Kickoff at Carter-Finley Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m.
