A wild afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium ended with N.C. State on top of No. 15 East Carolina 30-24. The Wolfpack played from behind the entire game until scoring the game winning touchdown in overtime.
After a late touchdown pass from redshirt freshman Russell Wilson to tight end George Bryan, the Pack forced overtime and a fumble by ECU quarterback Patrick Pinkney before an Andre Brown touchdown to grab the win.
“You can’t really explain the feeling. It is just something you got to experience. It is just awesome,” Bryan said.
Offensive struggles were the story at the beginning of the game. The first quarter saw the teams only gain a combined 95 yards. Coach Tom O’Brien used a dual quarterback system early, bringing redshirt junior Harrison Beck in for redshirt freshman Russell Wilson at quarterback on third and long on both of the Pack’s first two possessions.
“We were going to do that, especially backed up third and long, because that is Russell [Wilson’s] toughest situation,” O’Brien said.
But on that second third and long, Beck through a pass behind his receiver and it was tipped into the hands of East Carolina’s Van Eskridge, who ran it back 23 yards for the score.
“[The strategy] backfired on us. We were concerned about turning the ball over. Shows how smart I am,” O’Brien said jokingly.
From the second quarter onward, though, both teams moved the ball well. State picked up its first offensive touchdown against a Bowl Subdivision team this season, when Wilson dumped a four yard pass to Brown to tie the score at 7-7.
The tie evaporated later when Pinkey threw to tight end Davon Drew who broke several tackles on his way to a touchdown.
Both teams posted touchdowns on their first possessions of the second half, as they continued to play evenly. A field goal added by State’s Josh Czajowski, a redshirt sophomore, made the score 21-17 going into the final stanza.
State’s defense stood strong in the 4th quarter, as two ECU trips to the red zone resulted in only three points.
“To keep them out of the end zone on four plays was a huge play,” O’Brien said. “And the next time they got down there, to make them kick a field goal was doubly huge.”
Those stands left the opportunity open for a long, game-tying drive which was capped off by Wilson’s pass to Bryan.
“The defense gave us the opportunity to make something happen,” Bryan said.
The defense’s strong second half play came despite the absence of standout redshirt sophomore linebacker Nate Irving, who went down with a lower leg injury. His status could not be confirmed after the game.
In overtime, ECU got the ball first. They were knocking at the door on the 10-yard line when junior Shea McKeen blindsided Pinkney and forced a fumble which was recovered by State’s redshirt junior Willie Young.
“It didn’t look like he was going to throw it. I knew I was going to have enough time to get over there,” McKeen said.
That meant all the Pack had to do was put a point on the board to win. And just a couple plays later, Brown scampered in from 10 yards to win the game 30-24.
“When the defense goes out there and play like they played, and get us a turnover in overtime, I just said, ‘I ain’t going to rely on the kicker. I’m going to go out here and put this boy in.'” Brown said.
Pandemonium ensued as the whole team started dancing and celebrating around Brown after the Pack’s come-from-behind win.
But even after such a big win, State knows that it still has a lot to improve on.
“We are really happy with this one, but we know it doesn’t get any easier with South Florida coming in,” O’Brien said. “[We made] too many mistakes to be considered a good football team. But we are a team that is working hard to be a good football team.”
