Pack football tramples Monarchs

The NC State football team remained unbeaten Saturday night after securing its first road win of the season, a resounding 38-14 victory against Old Dominion. 

The Wolfpack (3-0, 0-0 ACC) had complete control offensively over the Monarchs (2-1, 0-0 C-USA), limiting their time on the ball to less than 20 minutes. With the win, the Pack improved to six consecutive victories, an accomplishment last matched in 2002.

The key to the Wolfpack win was its ability to stifle the run, limiting sophomore running back Ray Lawry to just 15 yards on 11 carries. The nation’s leading rusher had managed 438 yards on 59 previous attempts but could not match those numbers against a sturdy Wolfpack defense. 

NC State senior running back Shadrach Thornton was also back in the lineup after serving a two-game suspension, adding 92 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. The run game was the driving force behind most of the Pack’s offense, with four of the Pack’s five touchdowns coming on the ground. 

NC State got off to a quick start, marching down the field on its opening drive, with sophomore tight end Jaylen Samuels putting the Pack up 7-0 with a 3-yard run. 

The Monarchs tied the game on their second drive with one play, a 70-yard touchdown pass to Lawry. Despite this, Old Dominion was only able to scrape together 81 total yards in the first half and went for -3 yards on the ground. 

The Pack regained its lead on the following drive, which ended with redshirt senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett running the ball in from 21 yards out. 

The Monarchs were held to three straight 3-and-outs on its following three drives, making that seven total 3-and-outs on 11 drives in the game. The Wolfpack has now forced 21 3-and-outs on 34 drives in its first three games. 

On the final drive of the half, NC State cruised down the field, gaining 54 yards on nine plays, with Samuels catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brissett to put the Pack up 21-7 at the midway point of the game. 

The Wolfpack opened the second half’s scoring after a 34-yard punt return from junior wide receiver Bra’Lon Cherry put the offense in great field position on the Monarch’s 20-yard line. Junior running back Matt Dayes put the Pack up 28-7 with a 2-yard run. 

Old Dominion answered immediately with a touchdown of its own when freshman quarterback Shuler Bentley found sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Duhart in the end zone with a nice back-shoulder throw, but NC State pulled away soon after. 

A 36-yard field goal by freshman kicker Kyle Bambard compensated for the 48-yarder he missed in the first quarter, and the Pack stretched its lead to 17 points. 

In the final drive of the game, Thornton scored on a 1-yard run, his first touchdown of the season and the final seal on the Pack’s 38-14 victory. 

“They practice hard,” said head coach Dave Doeren on the outcome of the game. “They want the ball, and they’re competitive in practice, and they deserve what they get on game day.”

Dayes carried the ball 20 times for 108 yards, making this performance his third straight game with 100-plus rushing yards, last accomplished by T.A. McLendon in 2002. Samuels only ran for 15 yards, but his two touchdowns, one on the ground and one in the air, puts him at six touchdowns on the season, second best in the ACC. 

Brissett added 43 rushing yards of his own and completed 18-of-27 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. The senior has now thrown 156 passes without an interception and continued his terrific start to the season. 

The Wolfpack now faces five of its next seven games on the road after opening the season last year with five out of seven games at home.

“We talk about each step on the ladder as we go, and you’ve got to get to 3-0 to be 4-0,” Doeren said. “We can’t look at the mountain, we just gotta climb. That’s all we’re talking about: one day, one play at a time.”

The Pack will look to remain undefeated on the season, and heads to Mobile, Alabama, Saturday night to take on the South Alabama Jaguars.