© 2010 N.C. State Student Media
Freshman running back Mustafa Greene dives into the end zone to score a touchdown during the Thursday night game against Cincinnati. Greene had 16 runs during the game for 84 yards. N.C. State won the contest 30-19. Photo by Luis Zapata
Following two decisive wins over Central Florida and Cincinnati, the Pack knew it needed to pass its biggest test so far against a conference foe. State travelled to Atlanta with the opportunity to not only win its first conference game of the year, but knock off the 2009 ACC champ.
The Wolfpack not only won, but made a statement to the rest of the ACC – that it can play with any team in the league. N.C. State survived a late surge from Georgia Tech to come away with an impressive 45-28 win.
Wilson threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing another touchdown on the afternoon. The only mistake he made came at the end of the game when he threw an errant pass that was intercepted and ran back for a touchdown.
“It’s definitely exciting to go 4-0,” Wilson said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but we are going to look at the positives and the negatives from this game. It’s a great situation for our school and our team in general.”
Wilson’s 368 yards set a career high for him, but he credited his teammates for their role in one of the best performances of his career
“I’m trying to get better and do whatever it takes to win every game,” Wilson said. “The defense also did a great job. You have to credit them. They worked hard every single play to limit [Georgia Tech]. They played hard, even when it was hot. You also have to credit the Georgia Tech offense, they made some great plays. But we stepped up to the plate offensively and defensively today.”
The first scoring play for the Pack came on a blocked punt by sophomore tight end Asa Watson, which was recovered by redshirt senior wide receiver Jarvis Williams for a touchdown. The blocked punt was the first against the Yellow Jackets by any team since the 1996 season.
“Coach told us we were going all-in, that we were going to send the whole house,” Williams said. “We got a good push back into the punter, and my man just happened to push me out towards the ball. He made it easy, and I just timed the ball to get a touchdown. It was my first of the year, so I definitely wanted it.”
While the star on the offensive side was Wilson, the standout player on the defensive side was redshirt senior linebacker Nate Irving. Irving had easily the most productive outing of his season Saturday, with a career-high 16 tackles, and 4.5 tackles for loss.
“It felt good to be out there,” Irving said. “To be able to still take advantage of my second chance and get out there on the field again. Since spring football, I felt like I was on the right track.”
Irving said the team was well prepared for Georgia Tech’s triple option attack, which made defenders responsible for as many as three running threats on every down.
“We just executed our assignments, and the coach told us that everyone was not going to be able to be a star,” Irving said. “This had to be a team defensive effort, and we tried to perform every play as the coach called it to us.”
State is now 4-0 overall, and 1-0 in conference play and will look to continue its success when it returns to Carter-Finley Stadium to take on Virginia Tech, which is 2-2 after dropping its first two games to No. 3 Boise State and FCS foe James Madison.