While the Wolfpack came up just short of a win, it certainly gave Miami all it could handle in a 44-41 loss. In a game dominated by offense, NC State ran out of firepower in the fourth quarter, which allowed Miami to pull away with a win.
Despite a late interception, redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman finished with, arguably, the best game of his career. He threw for 248 yards, two passing touchdowns and hauled in one receiving touchdown. He was one of many positive takeaways from the disappointing loss.
“It was a heck of a football game,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “…Got to give Miami credit, they made a big play when they needed to, and we didn’t at the end.”
Despite putting up 41 points on the 11th-ranked team in the nation, NC State had no solutions for Miami quarterback D’Eriq King, who shredded the Pack for 535 total yards and five passing touchdowns, only missing 10 throws.
The good news for the Wolfpack is that King is likely the best quarterback NC State will see all year, and three of the next four games are at home.
After NC State muffed the opening kickoff, the Wolfpack’s offense was explosive in the opening drive. The six-play, 89-yard drive was capped off by a jet sweep to redshirt junior wide receiver Thayer Thomas that he then threw back across the field to Hockman. Hockman followed his blockers all the way to the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown to put the Pack up 7 points.
Miami came back with a quick score of its own. After three straight plays where Miami failed to move the chains, it appeared that the Wolfpack would force a punt from the Canes. However, Miami took its chances and went for it on fourth-and-short. The move paid off with a 42-yard run from King.
After that chunk play, the Hurricanes pushed down the rest of the field and capped off the nine-play drive with a touchdown on a 3-yard play action pass.
NC State and Miami didn’t slow down, each team put up a touchdown on its second drive of the game. NC State scored on a beautifully thrown 11-yard pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Devin Carter.
Miami took the ball down the field for another touchdown. The only chance NC State had to force a fourth down was blown when graduate defensive lineman Daniel Joseph committed a roughing the passer penalty on third down. In just under 12 minutes, the two teams had combined for four touchdowns and 325 yards of total offense.
After four straight touchdown possessions, Miami went for a squib kick aimed at a player on NC State’s special teams squad. The ball went off his leg and Miami was able to recover. However, for the first time in the game, NC State’s defense was able to stop the Hurricanes, forcing a punt after a three-and-out. The Pack and the Canes continued to mirror each other’s drives. The Wolfpack also went three-and-out before punting back to Miami to close out the first quarter.
This didn’t stop either offense; it was merely a break in the action. Miami put up a 65-yard touchdown drive, which was capped off with King’s third passing touchdown of the game. NC State responded with the first field goal of the game. A methodical 10-play drive was capped off with a 42-yard field goal from junior kicker Christopher Dunn.
On NC State’s next possession, it put up another impressive offensive drive. After starting on its own 20-yard line, the Pack slowly pushed the ball down the field until junior running back Ricky Person Jr. broke free for a 40-yard run. This put NC State deep into Canes territory and it took advantage with a 9-yard passing touchdown over the middle to redshirt senior tight end Cary Angeline.
After a punt from Miami and a few runs to kill the clock by NC State, the Wolfpack ended the half leading 24-21.
The first half was highlighted by offense and penalties. The Pack went for 287 total yards in the first half in addition to the 24 points. The Wolfpack was also flagged for six accepted penalties for 68 yards. While NC State could clearly move the ball in the first half, it had some things to clean up at halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Pack was able to slow Miami after a few big plays to hold the Hurricanes to a field goal that tied the game at 24.
NC State’s offense picked up right where it left off on its opening half drive. The nine-play touchdown drive was highlighted by a 34-yard jumping catch by senior wide receiver Emeka Emezie. NC State got all the way down to Miami’s 1-yard line before sophomore running back Zonovan Knight punched it in for the Wolfpack’s first rushing touchdown of the day. Miami countered with a quick score to tie the game at 31.
The game stayed tied for only 15 seconds, as Knight took Miami’s kickoff 100 yards for his second touchdown of the day. Knight was as surprised as anyone that he took the return all the way back for a touchdown.
“I really shouldn’t have brought it out because it was in the end zone; we normally let those go,” Knight said. “When I did run it out, I didn’t even run the correct return. So, it was all vision and just luck, honestly.”
After a botched handoff on third down left Miami with a fourth and 10, Miami gave the ball back to NC State. As the Wolfpack had done all night, it drove the field to get into scoring position.
After lining up for a 48-yard field goal, Miami appeared to jump offside, but the call went against the Wolfpack. So instead of a potential first down, the Wolfpack was forced to try a field goal that matched Dunn’s career long. It didn’t bother Dunn, as he split the uprights from 53 yards out to put the Wolfpack up 41-31.
A pair of fast-moving drives for Miami were stopped in the red zone by NC State. The Wolfpack held the Canes to a pair of field goals to hold its lead at four points. Miami quickly got the ball back again and started making its way down the field. After the Wolfpack forced an intentional grounding penalty, Miami drove 92 yards in just four plays to put Miami up by a field goal, 44-41.
This drive really displayed how much the Pack’s secondary struggled against King. Miami’s Mike Harley, in particular, stood out on the drive, as he hauled in a 35-yard catch and a 54-yard catch, the latter of which was turned in for a touchdown.
“It’s pretty tough when a quarterback can run and throw as good as he can,“ said junior nickelback Tyler Baker Williams. “But we came out, we had a game plan for it, and we just fell short tonight.”
With Miami’s momentum growing, the Wolfpack couldn’t stop the bleeding as Hockman threw an interception on the first play following the kickoff. With only two timeouts left, the Wolfpack needed a stop, but Miami’s offense prevailed when it converted on a third-and-6. With under two minutes remaining, Miami was able to run out the clock and secure the 44-41 victory over NC State.
“Proud of the way our guys played,” Doeren said. “Disappointed we didn’t get the win, but there’s a lot of improvement from the last game to this one.”
