The No. 16 NC State football team secured a 27-14 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17.
The Wolfpack (3-0) rode a stout defensive performance to victory over the Red Raiders (2-1). The Pack stifled Texas Tech for just 54 rushing yards and 299 passing yards. The latter total is relatively low for a Red Raiders squad averaging 411.5 passing yards per game heading into the contest.
“Once we got the two-score lead in the second half, and the way their offense plays fast, we were trying to keep it away and use clock,” said head coach Dave Doeren.
NC State’s front seven spearheaded the defensive effort. Redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson led the Pack in tackles with 10, while junior linebacker Drake Thomas racked up eight tackles of his own along with two QB hurries. Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle C.J. Clark further shook up the opposing backfield with two sacks.
Wilson’s performance in particular spurred him and his teammates to victory. This was Wilson’s first game of significant playing time in a while after suffering an injury early in the season-opener against ECU and missing most of the 2021 season.
“I love all them boys on defense,” Wilson said. “It means the world to me to be able to get back out there and compete with them and play with them. We’ve built such a great bond here. It’s awesome, it’s truly awesome.”
While Texas Tech quarterback Donovan Smith racked up some solid yardage, the Wolfpack stayed a step ahead of the Red Raiders for most of the game. Two field goals by graduate kicker Christopher Dunn and a 14-yard touchdown rush by sophomore running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye spelled a 13-0 lead for the Pack, but the defense jumped in on the scoring action as well.
With the Red Raiders offense picking up steam late in the first half, sophomore cornerback Aydan White nabbed an errant pass by Smith and returned it 84 yards to the house. The interception was the first of White’s two of the night.
“That’s a DB’s dream right there, just seeing nothing but green,” White said. “Then I saw my boys, they started building a wall for me and then it was just the quarterback [left to beat]. I knew that they were going to take care of him. … Easy touchdown.”
The Wolfpack’s offense looked sporadic over the course of the game. Redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary did not click with his receivers downfield, instead opting for shorter passes and relying on specialty players to make moves to get free in space. This approach worked on enough drives for NC State to score two offensive touchdowns.
Leary was under pressure on a lot of his throws as well. The Red Raiders ended the night with four total quarterback hurries, putting Leary on the ground on several plays. The offensive line also gave up two sacks to Texas Tech.
“Offense, defense, special teams — it’s never one guy,” Doeren said. “I think Devin has really high expectations for himself. It’ll be a good week for him. I know he’ll be hard on himself in the film room and get things going again.”
The backfield pairing of junior running back Jordan Houston and Sumo-Karngbaye did a lot of damage to the Texas Tech defense. Houston broke free on most of his touches until he left the game at the end of the third quarter with an injury. Houston carried the ball 13 times for 57 yards and added one catch for 10 yards.
Sumo-Karngbaye factored into the game plan early and picked up where Houston left off. His 14 carries amounted to 54 yards and a rushing touchdown, as well as four catches for 93 yards and a receiving touchdown. Sumo-Karngbaye’s night further solidified his place in the offense.
“We had some good outside runs and got on the edges with Demie’s one touchdown early in the game,” Doeren said. “I thought [offensive coordinator] Tim [Beck] mixed it up pretty well. In the run game, we were pretty versatile. Our counters, our outside zone, inside zone, and we had some off tackle trap stuff. We made them defend a lot of things in the run game.”
Special teams played a large part in the Wolfpack’s victory as well. The punt team consistently pinned the Red Raiders back deep in their own territory and covered a muffed punt which NC State recovered and turned into a field goal. The Pack didn’t allow the Texas Tech return team to get anything going all night, and Dunn boosted the impact of the special teams with a pair of early field goals from 29 and 47 yards, respectively.
“It was one of the points of emphasis,” Doeren said. “We talked about tilting the field, making them play uphill and us play downhill. Field position is a huge part of the game, particularly when you’re at home and crowd noise becomes a factor, so the special teams were very dominant today.”
Even though the Pack remained on the front foot for most of the evening, penalties were a thorn in its side. While there were a few borderline calls here and there, accumulating nine penalties for 74 yards is below the level of discipline NC State needs to bring when it takes on stronger opponents later in the year.
At least for tonight, the Red Raiders racked up seven penalties for 69 yards, effectively counterbalancing the Pack’s penalties and preventing themselves from staging a comeback.
The Wolfpack will wrap up its nonconference schedule at home on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. against the Connecticut Huskies. The game will cap off a three-game homestand before NC State opens ACC play at No. 4 Clemson on Oct. 1.
