On a rainy Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium, N.C . State (2-1, 0-1 ACC) handed South Alabama (2-1) it’s first ever loss in the program’s history to help blur the memories from last week’s loss at Wake Forest.
Even the gloomy and unusually cold weather couldn’t stop the Wolfpack faithful as 56,756 fans checked in through the gates. The Pack didn’t disappoint as State looked strong from the first series of the game, which was a change from the sluggish starts in the opening two contests of the season.
Mike Glennon put up big numbers and clinched several career highs throughout the evening. The Jaguars, who were facing their first ever FBS opponent, had no answer to his passing as he went 17 for 20 with 274 yards and four touchdown passes.
Glennon was quick to praise his fellow teammates for helping him throughout the game, and gave special focus to the partnership he’s slowly developing with T.J. Graham. Glennon said the senior, who had 128 receiving yards including a 67-yard touchdown catch to seal the game, has established himself as a leader on the Wolfpack.
“I think T.J. [Graham] has worked really hard this off season,” Glennon said. “This is his last year, this is it. He’s doing a great job catching the ball, and I think everyone knows what he can do with his feet.”
Coach Tom O’Brien also had praise for Graham, who incidentally became the first receiver since Jerrico Cotchery in 2003 to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games.
“He’s a much different kid this year and it’s his opportunity,” O’Brien said. “He played behind Jarvis [Williams] and Owen [Spencer] last year and now he has to be the guy. He’s been maybe a little better than what we expected at this point.”
In a game laced with several storylines, senior Dwayne Maddox’s stood out above the rest.
Maddox, one of the reserve linebackers who hasn’t seen a lot of game time of late, was thrust into the spotlight when junior linebacker Terrell Manning went off the field following a knee injury. Maddox grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he went on to make eight tackles in the game and become one of the brightest sparks in the Wolfpack defense.
O’Brien who hasn’t chosen to play Maddox very often in his collegiate career, went on to praise him for his versatility.
“Dwayne has a lot of experience,” O’Brien said. “He played a lot as a freshmen and his first and second years, and then maybe he didn’t get as many snaps. But he’s been playing both middle linebacker and weak linebacker spots for us, trying to do both of those, and certainly when Terrell came out, he did a nice job of giving us a boost there.”
Maddox, who has found it tough to get a lot of playing time in Raleigh, reiterated his commitment towards N.C. State and insisted no matter how tough it’s been for him, the thought of leaving the Wolfpack has never occurred to him.
“When I committed here, I committed here for all my four years,” Maddox said. “Even though I haven’t played a lot, I am still always happy to step up when the team needs me.”
Maddox was also enthusiastic about the possibility of receiving an opportunity to start against Cincinnati on Thursday.
“I am excited about it, I am excited for the opportunity to go out there and make the best of it, ” Maddox said. “I am hoping the coaching staff has faith in me and can put me in a situation where I can and help the team win.”
N.C. State travels to Cincinnati Thursday to play their second away game of the season. The nationally televised game will be broadcasted on ESPN at 8 p.m.
