A stingy defense and explosive offensive performance combined for a near-shutout, as the NC State football team trampled Boston College 24-8 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Saturday.
Following the hard-fought loss to Clemson, the newly crowned No. 1 seed for the College Football Playoff, the Wolfpack (6-3, 2-3 ACC) earned bowl eligibility for the second-straight season with the win against the Eagles (3-7, 0-7 ACC), which was State’s first victory after going winless in the last five attempts in Chestnut Hill.
Facing the No. 1 rushing defense in the country and competing without junior running back Matt Dayes, who suffered a season-ending foot injury against Clemson, the Pack leaned on a committee of running backs led by do-it-all sophomore Jaylen Samuels.
“We knew that their defense was really good, so we had to play top-notch,” Pack head coach Dave Doeren said postgame.
The running game generated big runs of 35, 23, 13 and 12 yards to contribute to a total of 139 yards and two touchdowns. The Wolfpack’s offensive staff put additional focus on deep throws as well, as redshirt senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett pushed the ball downfield, completing 14-of-27 passes for 212 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Wolfpack began slowly with the ball and a methodical 11-play drive down the field, turning it over on a fourth-down interception at the Boston College 10-yard line.
The first quarter ended scoreless and beyond a few dropped passes from Wolfpack receivers, there were few scoring opportunities on either side.
That changed in the second quarter, however, as the Pack opened with an 83-yard touchdown strike to freshman receiver Maurice Trowell. Brissett delivered the ball 60 yards in the air for the longest touchdown pass of his career so far.
On the next possession, the Wolfpack defense caused another three-and-out, with smothering run defense and solid pass defense.
The Wolfpack’s offense was aided on the next drive by a roughing the passer penalty on the first play. Junior Jumichael Ramos made a huge leaping catch for 33 yards over a smaller Boston College defensive back on a high pass from Brissett. Ramos’ catch set up Jaylen Samuels’ 5-yard touchdown run with 8:46 remaining in the half.
On the next defensive series, freshman defensive tackle Eurndraus Bryant recovered a fumble from Boston College quarterback John Fadule and returned it 14 yards before fumbling and turning possession over. But graduate student cornerback Juston Burris made an impact defensive play, grabbing an interception and returning it to the Boston College 46-yard line in a topsy-turvy few minutes of action.
The first half ended without any more scoring or drama and a 14-0 Pack lead, but the visitors would quickly put more daylight between the two sides in the second half.
In the third quarter, freshman running back Reggie Gallaspy II delivered a 35-yard run untouched for a touchdown thanks to great blocking from the offensive line to put NC State up 21-0.
Graduate student safety Hakim Jones and sophomore safety Josh Jones each picked off passes in the third quarter from Fadule, but the Wolfpack offense was unable to convert the turnovers into points.
Freshman kicker Kyle Bambard added a field goal to the Wolfpack’s lead to make it 24-0 with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter.
On its next drive, Boston College managed to score a touchdown on a pass from Fadule; the two-point conversion was also a success. However, with only 1:21 remaining, the final outcome was ever in doubt, and after recovering an onside kick attempt, NC State saw out the 24-8 win.
“I challenged our team at the beginning of the season,” Doeren said. “I said there were two games we needed to win to show progress. It had been 12 years since we won at Wake and 10 years since we won here in Boston. We were able to accomplish both this season, and to me that’s great progress for our football team.”
Freshman punter AJ Cole had a 72-yard punt in the fourth quarter, the ninth longest in school history.
The Wolfpack defense had a bounce-back day with seven sacks and 13 tackles-for-loss. Graduate student defensive end Mike Rose and sophomore Bradley Chubb led the way with two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks and 3.5 TFLs, respectively.
The Wolfpack takes on No. 17 Florida State this Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida.
“Our goal is to be better than we were a year ago,” Doeren said. “Last year we won seven in the regular season. We have to keep fighting and swinging to see if we get there.”
