The NC State football team was unable to stop the No. 24 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket’s dominant rushing attack, losing 56-23 Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets (8-2, 5-2 ACC) started off the scoring affairs with a seven-play 56-yard drive capped off by a 16-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Justin Thomas. This put Georgia Tech up 7-0 with more than 10 minutes left in the first quarter.
The Wolfpack (5-5 overall, 1-5 ACC) was able to follow up that drive with a scoring drive of its own. Junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett strung together multiple third down conversions, helping the team orchestrate a 75-yard drive finished off with an acrobatic touchdown run by Brissett. A blocked extra point made the score 7-6 with the Yellow Jackets still in the lead.
State took the lead on its next drive after the defense forced a fumble. Sophomore Matt Dayes scored on a 17-yard touchdown run, putting NC State up 13-7, but the Pack would hold the lead for less than two minutes as Yellow Jackets’ senior running back Synjyn Days ran 53 yards for a touchdown. The run put Days over 100 yards rushing and also put the Yellow Jackets up 14-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Georgia Tech’s defense was next to join in on the scoring, snagging an interception off of Brissett and returning it 38 yards for the score. This was Brissett’s second interception on consecutive drives and put the Yellow Jackets up by eight in the first half.
The Georgia Tech defense wasn’t finished there, forcing a fumble on the next drive and returning the ball for a score to extend the lead to 27-13. Not only did the Pack give up seven points on the play, but Brissett went down with an injury. The Pack quarterback would return on the following drive, however.
Due to the barrage of turnovers, the NC State offense was on the field for 26 straight plays. While, the Georgia Tech offense hadn’t been on the field in the second quarter until the four minute mark, the Yellow Jackets still managed to score on their first drive and send themselves into the half with a 35-16 lead after a late NC State field goal by senior Niklas Sade.
The second half began with more of the same, as Georgia Tech’s rushing attack continued to dominate the NC State defense. The first drive of the half for the Yellow Jackets went for 75 yards and a touchdown as the score continued to get more and more out of hand for the Wolfpack.
After the drive was extended by a personal foul on NC State for illegal contact with the snapper on a field goal attempt, the Yellow Jackets were able to scamper in for their fourth rushing touchdown on the day, extending the lead to 49-16 with three minutes to go in the third quarter.
Despite putting in their second string, the Yellow Jackets were able to throw a 16-yard touchdown pass on third down to make the score 56-16 with ten minutes to go in the game.
Brissett finally found sophomore tight end David Grinnage to make the score 56-23 with seven minutes left in the game, but the score would prove too little too late, as the Yellow Jackets ran out the clock in their final drive, handing NC State its fifth conference loss on the season.