Just two weeks before in the same end zone, Akron scored on the final play to steal a 20-17 win in the last minute. But this time, with Daniel Evans in his first start as quarterback, N.C. State was stalking the same end zone, starting at its own 26-yard line down 15-10 with 46 seconds left against Boston College on Sept. 23.

“For me it wasn’t as big a deal because I was only the holder for those first few games,” Evans said. “So it wasn’t like I was feeling that much pressure from the first three games.”

After an incomplete pass on the first play of the drive, Evans and the Wolfpack were making steady progress downfield. He completed two of his next three passes, including an 18-yard pass to tight end Anthony Hill and a 20-yard pass to John Dunlap, bringing the team to the Boston College 34-yard line.

Dunlap said it was amazing to see Evans at work on the drive down the field.

“In the huddle for the last drive, I’ve never seen anybody more calm and confident. We went out there, and we basically just fed off of him and his leadership,” Dunlap said. “And after we did that, we went out and made it happen.”

With enough time left for two passes, Evans decided to go ahead and try for the touchdown, pump-faking and heaving the ball to the right corner of the stadium’s North End Zone.

Dunlap fought off two defenders and came down with the ball with five seconds left, giving the team the lead and energizing those who had stayed in the stands even after Evans appeared to seal the game by throwing an interception about three minutes earlier.

But even Dunlap had to wait for the referee’s signal to see if he had caught the ball in in-bounds.

“When I looked up and I saw his hands in the air, that was like the best moment in the world at that time,” Dunlap said. “It really shocked me. I was really excited.”

Dunlap, who had stayed numerous times after practice catching passes from Evans, said the game-winning play was nothing out of the ordinary for the team.

“That play, we run it all the time in practice, and we perfected it,” Dunlap said. “You can’t stop it really.”

Before the last drive, though, Evans had passed for only 107 yards and had thrown the interception that nearly cost his team the game. Meanwhile, Andre Brown had rushed for 97 yards and Toney Baker had rushed for 38 yards. But the final drive of the 17-15 victory changed how the game would be viewed.

“I didn’t have a great game,” Evans said. “But sometimes I think people forget about that when they just think about the end of the game and how it turned out.”

With Evans having just taken over as the starter, Dunlap said the way the game turned out was an important thing for the team.

“At that time, I knew that he was our guy,” Dunlap said. “That did a lot for us.”

Evans said that confidence from his teammates gained by the BC game was the most important thing because he already knew what he could do.

While Tom O’Brien, who coached Boston College in that game, is now State’s coach, Evans said he doesn’t think the win against his current coach will hurt him as he battles for the starting job for the 2007 season with Harrison Beck and Justin Burke.

“I don’t think so,” Evans said. “I think if anything, that would go for me.”