ATLANTA — NC State’s 28-26 close loss to Georgia Tech may not have come as a surprise to Vegas, but the way it unfolded was anything but expected. After going down 21-3 at halftime, anyone who had watched the Wolfpack’s previous four games couldn’t help but expect NC State to roll over, and with good reason. Thursday night’s performance marked the first time the Wolfpack outscored an ACC opponent in the second half, and it did that with the best half of football this offense has played yet.
At halftime, Georgia Tech outgained NC State by almost 70 yards, despite the Wolfpack running 11 more plays. That was the result of the offense not being able to match the explosiveness of Georgia Tech, something that quickly changed in the second half.
“We just came out, realized we had another half to play,” said graduate wide receiver Tabari Hines. “Obviously, Georgia Tech was 2-8 coming into this game, and we feel like we’re a better team than we showed in the first half. In the second half, we knew we’d come out and hit them on certain plays that we didn’t hit in the first half, and that’s what we did.”
That’s what NC State did, riding freshman running back Zonovan Knight down to the red zone, and the phenom got the Wolfpack into paydirt for the first time of the day. The defense let the offense down on Georgia Tech’s next possession, giving up a 26-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback James Graham on third and 9.
But the Wolfpack came back again, putting through a field goal, then shockingly forcing a second turnover as graduate defensive tackle Larrell Murchison collected his second fumble recovery of the day. Hines played a large role in NC State making up the 21-3 deficit it racked up, catching two balls for 60 yards on the ensuing possession en route to a score by redshirt junior tight end Cary Angeline.
In the air and on the ground, NC State’s offense moved the ball at will against the Georgia Tech defense in the second half. Leary made accurate throws and showed a willingness to get hit, while NC State’s running back trio returned to form as Knight, Houston and Person combined to rush for 206 yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line also deserves praise, consistently opening holes for the backs to run through. The Wolfpack outgained the Yellow Jackets by 129 yards in the second half behind the big guys up front, playing with all the momentum after seeming so flat in the first stanza.
“I think it started to click the drive before, at the end of the first half,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “We started getting into some run game and some tempo, which helped. I thought we just executed. We found where their blitzes were coming from and were able to pick them up better as the game went on. The O-line prevented the penetration we were having early.”
Inadequate O-line play in the running game, not having enough bodies at running back, not challenging the defense at quarterback, and not creating turnovers on the defensive end; these are all problems that have plagued the Wolfpack this season. And for one half, the team got past them. In the end, bad tackling and a failed two-point conversion foiled NC State’s comeback, but that’s almost beside the point. NC State losing is nothing new, but for the first time this season, the Wolfpack responded to deep adversity not with a weak attempt at resistance, but with a meaningful and persistent fight.
