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Wolfpack wins fourth straight
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| N.C. State’s Russell Wilson avoids the tackle of Miami’s Adewale Ojomo (97) in the third quarter Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. ASSOCIATED PRESS |
Hurricanes fall, 38-28, despite two TDs from James.
By AARON BEARD
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State’s season looked lost barely a month ago. Now, thanks to the impressive play of a rookie quarterback, the Wolfpack is waiting to find out whether its late-season comeback will be enough to get the team to a bowl game.
Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score Saturday to help N.C. State beat Miami
38-28, making the Wolfpack eligible for a bowl after four straight wins.
Wilson threw for 220 yards and ran for 58 more for the Wolfpack (6-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who pushed ahead for good on Wilson’s 32-yard pass to Owen Spencer late in the third quarter. Andre Brown also scored twice and ran for 93 of the Wolfpack’s 219 rushing yards against a Miami defense ranked 20th nationally.
N.C. State entered November at 2-6 before beating instate rivals Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina to keep its bowl hopes alive. Yet, unlike last year in a similar scenario, the Wolfpack made good on their last chance to become eligible for the postseason.
“They just kept playing and getting better and better,” Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said. “Everything’s heading in the right direction, and I’d love to have an opportunity to play one more time.
“At this point now, we’re playing the best of any team in this conference.”
N.C. State — which battled a line of injuries to key players earlier this season — became the first team to lose its first four ACC games then win its last four since the league went to an eight-game schedule in 1992. Three of the four wins came by double-digit margins.
“If we’d have started like this,” Brown said, “we’d probably be in Tampa (for the ACC championship game).”
It’s unclear where the Wolfpack can go from here. Ten league teams are bowl eligible and the ACC has nine bowl tie-ins, from the Orange Bowl invitation for the league champion to the EagleBank Bowl against Navy in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20. There could be additional openings if other conferences don’t have enough eligible teams for their allotted spaces.
The Wolfpack pushed ahead for good in the third quarter and had three of its four interceptions after halftime to hand the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4) their second straight loss.
“As a football team, we don’t accept losing,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “We are not going to sit up here and say, ‘Oh we are going to a bowl game.’ No, we want to win.”
Javarris James ran for two touchdowns to lead the Hurricanes, who led 21-20 midway through the third. The Hurricanes were coming off a 41-23 loss at Georgia Tech on Nov. 20, which ended their chance of reaching the ACC title game by winning out.
Wilson’s mobility was probably the biggest headache. The redshirt freshman had a 29-yard scramble to set up his short touchdown toss to Brown on the Wolfpack’s first drive.
Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score Saturday to help N.C. State beat Miami
38-28, making the Wolfpack eligible for a bowl after four straight wins.
Wilson threw for 220 yards and ran for 58 more for the Wolfpack (6-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who pushed ahead for good on Wilson’s 32-yard pass to Owen Spencer late in the third quarter. Andre Brown also scored twice and ran for 93 of the Wolfpack’s 219 rushing yards against a Miami defense ranked 20th nationally.
N.C. State entered November at 2-6 before beating instate rivals Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina to keep its bowl hopes alive. Yet, unlike last year in a similar scenario, the Wolfpack made good on their last chance to become eligible for the postseason.
“They just kept playing and getting better and better,” Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said. “Everything’s heading in the right direction, and I’d love to have an opportunity to play one more time.
“At this point now, we’re playing the best of any team in this conference.”
N.C. State — which battled a line of injuries to key players earlier this season — became the first team to lose its first four ACC games then win its last four since the league went to an eight-game schedule in 1992. Three of the four wins came by double-digit margins.
“If we’d have started like this,” Brown said, “we’d probably be in Tampa (for the ACC championship game).”
It’s unclear where the Wolfpack can go from here. Ten league teams are bowl eligible and the ACC has nine bowl tie-ins, from the Orange Bowl invitation for the league champion to the EagleBank Bowl against Navy in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20. There could be additional openings if other conferences don’t have enough eligible teams for their allotted spaces.
The Wolfpack pushed ahead for good in the third quarter and had three of its four interceptions after halftime to hand the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4) their second straight loss.
“As a football team, we don’t accept losing,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “We are not going to sit up here and say, ‘Oh we are going to a bowl game.’ No, we want to win.”
Javarris James ran for two touchdowns to lead the Hurricanes, who led 21-20 midway through the third. The Hurricanes were coming off a 41-23 loss at Georgia Tech on Nov. 20, which ended their chance of reaching the ACC title game by winning out.
Wilson’s mobility was probably the biggest headache. The redshirt freshman had a 29-yard scramble to set up his short touchdown toss to Brown on the Wolfpack’s first drive.
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