For the first time since 2006, the NC State football team is 2-0 in ACC play following its 33-25 victory over Syracuse Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Wolfpack (4-1, 2-0 ACC) jumped out to an early 26-7 lead, before eventually thwarting a late comeback attempt from the Orange (2-3, 0-1 ACC) to close out the win. State won with a very balanced offensive attack, led by a career-high 115 rushing yards for junior Nyheim Hines and 186 yards and a touchdown from redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley.
“It was a good win for our team,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “It wasn’t pretty in the second half at all. It hadn’t been done in 11 years at State, to be 2-0 in ACC play so we got there. Pretty or not, I’m happy about it.”
The Wolfpack out-rushed the Orange by a whopping 256-59 yard margin, as Hines and senior Jaylen Samuels carried the load. The duo had one touchdown each, and Samuels added 74 yards on the ground to Hines’ 115.
“The offensive line was blocking,” Hines said. “I worked on breaking the first tackle and making people miss. A lot of the time in practice, that was my point of emphasis, and I think I did a great job of doing that and I think the line did a great job of keeping the front seven off of me and letting me get to the second level.”
As good as the Pack was in the rushing game on offense, the highly-touted NC State defensive line was just as good at stopping the Syracuse running game. The Orange rushed for only 59 yards, with 44 of those coming from quarterback Eric Dungey. The Syracuse contingent of running backs accounted for a mere 15 yards on the ground.
“Our DNA is to stop the run, that’s what we came in the game to do,” senior defensive tackle Justin Jones said. “I’m just glad we won. The whole D-line played well today, the whole D-line. Every one of them.”
After settling for a field goal on its first two drives, the Pack got its first touchdown at the end of first quarter on a 20-yard pass from Finley to redshirt junior Stephen Louis to the corner of the endzone. A facemask penalty and pass interference against Syracuse and a 22-yard run from Samuels highlighted the drive.
Syracuse responded with an impressive drive of its own, going 75 yards and scoring a touchdown. Seven passing plays wore down the State secondary and led to a 7-yard scoring run by Dungey, to make it a 13-7 Pack lead.
The Pack answered right back with a five-play drive that went for 75 yards and ended with 10-yard touchdown run by junior Reggie Gallaspy. All five plays of the drive were on the ground and Hines had four carries for 65 yards including a 39-yard spurt that set up a first and goal.
NC State continued to stick with the run in a 10-play, 83-yard drive that finished with a 16-yard scamper by Jaylen Samuels with 2:21 left in the half, putting the Wolfpack up 26-7.
The Orange started the second half fast, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run from Dungey. The Pack couldn’t muster any offense in its first few drives of the third quarter, and Syracuse had another long scoring drive after.
“We knew they wouldn’t quit playing,” Doeren said. “They did the same thing at LSU last week. It’s a tough team to play if you’re not matching them score for score. We didn’t do that in the third quarter.”
After an Orange field goal, the Wolfpack offense awoke again in the fourth quarter, completing a 65-yard touchdown drive that was highlighted by 19-yard run by Samuels to set up the score. Hines punched the ball in from 1-yard out, making it a 33-17 Pack lead.
Syracuse kept the fight and took advantage of short field possession with a 33-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 10-yard passing touchdown from Dungey to Steve Ishmael and a successful two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game at 33-25. State would recover the Syracuse onside kick and run the clock out.
It’s the best start in ACC play that an NC State team has had in a long time, and Doeren made it clear that is something he is proud of. However, there isn’t much time for the Pack to rest on its laurels as it hosts No. 17 Louisville Thursday night.
“We haven’t been 2-0 in the conference in 11 years, and our senior class did that,” Doeren said. “It’s great to be in this situation. We look forward to playing Louisville at home on Thursday. I wish we had more days to get ready but that’s the way it is.”
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jakobi Meyers receives a pass from Finley during the game against Syracuse in Carter-Finley Stadium, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. Meyers received for a total of 57 yards this game. NC State won against Syrcause, 33-25, making this game the 200th Wolfpack Win in Carter-Finley Stadium.
