If NC State football wants to make a bowl game this year, the team will have to make it happen on the road. A 27-13 loss to the visiting Miami Hurricanes dropped the Pack to 5-6 (2-5 ACC) in the season.
Rush defense was an issue for the Pack today, who came into the game fifth in the FBS in stopping the run. The team allowed Miami (7-4, 4-3 ACC) to rush for 129 yards. Most of that came from junior running back Mark Walton, who finished the first half with 18 yards and then broke off for 102 on 11 carries in the second half.
“Obviously, we didn’t do enough,” redshirt junior safety Josh Jones said. “We could’ve got a stop at the end of the game, but didn’t. We just didn’t finish on defense. We played well in the first half, and in the third quarter, they came out and scored two touchdowns, and we just can’t do that.”
In the last home game of his college career, senior running back Matt Dayes ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
“He’s a great young man; he’s a hard worker and a great teammate,” head coach Dave Doeren said of Dayes. “He’s a guy that will always represent NC State the right way. He hates missing practice; he shows up early for everything. He’s a consummate type of player that you want to be around and model other players to. It’s been a pleasure to coach Matt Dayes and I will miss him greatly when he’s gone.”
The Pack was also beaten through the air, as Miami junior quarterback Brad Kaaya finished 22 of 38 for 286 yards, while NC State redshirt sophomore Ryan Finley went 20 of 44 for 210 yards and an interception. Redshirt sophomore receiver Stephen Louis led the Pack in receiving with five catches for 70 yards, while freshman Ahmmon Richards led Miami with nine catches for 117 yards.
Miami moved down field on its third drive courtesy of some nice passes by Kaaya, but the Pack defense stood the Hurricanes up in the red zone, forcing them to kick a 31-yard field goal and settle for a 3-0 lead with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
The Pack finally broke through on its next drive, moving down the field on a 63-yard drive highlighted by a 39-yard pass from Finley to Harmon. The Pack offense stalled in the red zone, as Louis dropped a touchdown pass, setting up a 35-yard field goal for graduate kicker Connor Haskins to tie the game at three with 1:37 left in the first half.
“In the first half we dropped five passes, which led to our inability to have success on third down,” Doeren said. “When you’re in a drive and you call a play and then it’s protected and you throw it and don’t catch it, that’s a situation where you may be picking up yards, and all those things add up. Those are five plays were we could have had positive momentum and didn’t.”
Miami marched down the field on its next drive, going 74 yards on 11 plays in 1:26. However, the Pack came up with another key stop on its own 6-yard line, forcing Miami to attempt another field goal. Junior kicker Michael Badgley missed the ensuing 23 yarder, sending the game to halftime at 3-3.
The Hurricanes quickly found the end zone to start the second half, as Walton broke off a 30-yard run to push Miami up 10-3.
The Pack came out strong on its next drive, as Finley connected on some strong throws to Cherry and Louis to push the ball down the field. The drive ended in disappointment as Finley was picked off in the end zone by freshman cornerback Malek Young.
Miami’s offense proved it had really awakened on the next drive, as Kaaya hit senior wide receiver Stacy Coley for a 51-yard strike, setting up a 1-yard touchdown rush for Walton to give the Hurricanes a 17-3 lead with 7:11 to play in the third quarter.
The Pack moved down the field again following Miami’s touchdown, and this time found pay dirt. On fourth down and three from Miami’s 3-yard line, Finley tossed it to Dayes, who punched it in to cut the deficit to 17-10 with 50 seconds left in the third.
Following a defensive stop early in the fourth quarter, disaster struck for the Pack, as Cherry fumbled a punt return to give Miami the ball at the NC State 16. That set up a 22-yard field goal attempt that Badgley connected on to give Miami a 20-10 lead with 12:13 to play.
Dayes appeared to cut the lead to three with his second touchdown of the day, but a clipping penalty negated the score and pushed the Pack back 15 yards. The offense recovered but failed to find the end zone, and a Haskins 25-yard field goal brought the pack within a touchdown with 5:23 to play.
Miami’s offense came through on its next possession, capped off with a 24 yard run by Walton for his third touchdown of the game to make it 27-13 with 2:06 left and seal the deal. The Wolfpack has one final chance to earn bowl eligibility as it travels to Chapel Hill to take on the rival Tar Heels Friday.
