In its final game of non-conference play, the NC State football team destroyed the South Alabama Jaguars in a 63-13 victory Saturday night.
South Alabama started off quickly and explosively, highlighted by a 47-yard pass from quarterback Cody Clements to wide receiver Chris Lewis. The Jaguars ended the drive with a touchdown pass to tight end Gerald Everett to jump out to an early 7-0 lead.
However, the Wolfpack quickly countered on the next drive, as junior running back Matt Dayes exploded around the corner on a jet sweep for a 77-yard touchdown run to tie the game 7-7. This run was the longest play of the season for NC State.
On the next drive, the Wolfpack run game proved to be too much to handle for the South Alabama defense. The six play, 70 yard drive, 69 of which were gained on the ground, was capped off with a 39-yard rush from senior running back Shadrach Thornton between the tackles to give NC State a 14-7 lead.
The Jags moved the ball well on the ensuing drive, but was halted by an interception by sophomore safety Germaine Pratt. The Pack responded with passes of 42 and 33 yards to sophomore fullback Jaylen Samuels and wide receiver Bra’Lon Cherry, respectively. Dayes got his second touchdown run of the game from two yards out to put NC State up 21-7.
Clements once again threw a pick, this time to redshirt sophomore linebacker Jerod Fernandez. Dayes scored easily on an eight yard sweep to give the Pack a 28-7 lead with over three minutes still remaining in the first quarter.
South Alabama marched down the field all the way to the NC State one-yard line. However, the Wolfpack goal-line defense prevailed, holding the Jags to just a field goal to make it a 28-10 game.
Cherry gave the Pack great field position on the kickoff, returning it all the way to the 50 yardline. Samuels scored four plays later, taking a shuffle-pass 33 yards to paydirt, giving State a 35-10 lead with 12:10 remaining in the first half.
The teams traded possessions for the next few minutes, until South Alabama muffed the punt and NC State recovered it on the 25-yard line. Redshirt senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett then threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Samuels to put the Pack up 42-10 with 4:21 remaining in the half. Neither team scored in the remainder of the half.
Dayes had an outstanding first half, carrying the ball four times for 88 yards and three touchdowns and catching four passes for 27 yards. Samuels dealt most of his damage on the receiving end, catching five passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns and carried the ball twice for 28 yards. The running game as a whole totaled 190 yards after one half. The defense tallied three takeaways in the first half, more than it had throughout the rest of the season.
The two teams traded possessions to start the second half. On its second drive, the Pack went 78 yards in seven plays, highlighted by a 4-yard rush by Thornton to extend its lead to 49-10.
The Jags countered with an eight play, 33-yard drive that ended in a 49-yard field goal to make it a 49-13 game.
With 3:29 remaining in the third quarter, redshirt freshman quarterback Jalan McClendon entered the game in relief of Brissett. Brissett finished the game 18-for-23 with 218 yards and two touchdowns. The drive ended on a 12-yard rush from freshman running back Reggie Gallaspy II, his first career touchdown, to extend the lead to 56-13.
Thornton led the team in rushing with 111 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Gallaspy put up strong numbers in garbage time, tallying six carries for 35 yards and two touchdowns and one catch for 21 yards.
Defensively, NC State had another terrific game, allowing just 45 rushing yards. Redshirt sophomore safety Josh Jones led the team with six tackles, one for a loss. Freshman defensive end Darian Roseboro led the team with 2.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks.
The Pack looks to lengthen its winning streak against Louisville Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in its first ACC contest of the season.
