Around NC State football's schedule

Here is a rundown of how NC State football’s scheduled opponents did this past week during the opening weekend of the season.

The Pirates lost 34-6 to NC State. You can catch all of The Wolfpacker’s coverage below:

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It was a rough opener for the Catamounts who lost 49-27 to visiting Mercer despite fifth-year senior quarterback Tyrie Adams becoming the school’s all-time leader in career total offense. Mercer raced out to a 28-7 lead and was up 42-14 at halftime.

WCU actually outgained Mercer 445-419 in total yards but had trouble stopping the run. Mercer ran for 212 yards as a team and averaged 6.8 yards per rush.

Perennial FCS power James Madison, now coached by former NC State assistant Curt Cignetti, put a good scare into the Mountaineers. JMU struck first and led 7-3 at halftime. The score was tied 10-10 going into the fourth quarter before WVU scored on a field goal and then less than two minutes later converted a turnover into a TD. The Mountaineers prevailed 20-13.

New West Virginia starting quarterback Austin Kendall, a product of Waxhaw, N.C. and an Oklahoma transfer, was sharp while completing 27 of 42 passes for 260 yards and two scores, but West Virginia could not establish a run game. It ran for just 43 yards on 24 rushes.

Conversely, JMU ran for 172 yards as a team. WVU’s defense though dialed up a good pass rush and had four sacks.

Ball State hosted Indiana in its opener and gave the Hoosiers a competitive game. It was tied 10-10 in the second quarter before IU added a couple of field goals to go into halftime with a 16-10 lead. Ball State used long touchdown passes of 45 and 36 yards to twice cut the lead to within a touchdown in the second half, but a 50-yard field goal from IU’s Logan Justus with 2:15 left sealed a 34-24 victory.

Both teams aired it out. Ball State’s Drew Plitt threw for 298 yards while IU’s Michael Penix went for 326 yards. Indiana though was more effective running the ball, tallying 148 yards on 4.5 yards per run compared to Ball State’s 100 yards and 2.5 yards a carry. Ball State's defense finished the game with just two tackles for loss.

It is difficult to imagine a more crushing loss for beleaguered head coach Willie Taggart outside getting their doors blown out by Boise State than the way FSU went down Saturday at home.

The Seminoles built a 31-13 lead late in the second quarter after a 58-yard TD pass from James Blackman to Keyshawn Helton, but all the scoring went to Boise State after that. The Broncos outscored FSU 23-0 the rest of the way and prevailed 36-31, dealing another blow to Taggart.

Florida State’s offensive line gave up four sacks but did help running back Cam Akers run 15 times for 116 yards and a score. Blackman threw for 327 and three scores without a pick.

The Noles defense though struggled in the heat and humidity, and Boise State finished with a whopping 621 yards of total offense (407 passing and 214 rushing).

It was a workmanlike-shutout win for Syracuse at Liberty. The Orange scored a field goal in the first quarter and then one touchdown in each of the following quarters for a 24-0 win.

Syracuse ran the ball well, carrying 44 times for 192 yards, but new full-time starting quarterback Tommy DeVito had an uneven performance throwing the ball. He was 17-of-35 passing for 176 yards with two interceptions.

The defense had DeVito’s back however. It held Liberty to minus-4 yards rushing for the game thanks in large part to a whopping eight sacks.

In a crucial early-season ACC showdown, Boston College’s offense rolled past Virginia Tech en route to a 35-28 win.

The Eagles grounded out 157 rushing yards but only averaged 3.3 yards per carry. It was the arm of quarterback Anthony Brown that made up for it. He threw for 275 yards and two scores, including two passes of over 50 yards.

BC allowed Virginia Tech quarterback Ryan Willis to throw for 344 yards and four scores but also picked him off three times and held the Hokies’ running game to 98 yards on 2.3 yards per carry.

Against a Utah State team that returns its star quarterback from a 10-win team, Wake Forest battled back and forth before prevailing 38-35 in a thriller. Quarterback Jamie Newman found former quarterback-turn receiver Kendall Hinton for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth and goal with 1:08 left for the eventual game-winner,

Wake sealed the win by intercepting Utah State’s Jordan Love at the Wake Forest 20 with 17 seconds left. That was the Deacons’ third interception of the game.

Both quarterbacks went over 400 yards passing — Newman with 401 and Love with 416. Both teams had 100-yard rushers as well. Wake’s Cade Carney ran 25 times for 105 yards and Utah State’s Jaylen Warren carried 19 times for 141 yards, including a 59-yard scamper.

Clemson did what many expected Clemson to do: roll past visiting Georgia Tech 52-14. The Tigers led 28-0 at halftime and scored twice in every quarter despite a so-so performance from star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who completed 13 of 23 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

Star running back Travis Etienne was sensational, rushing 12 times for 205 yards and three scores, one of them a 90-yarder. Overall Clemson ran for a whopping 411 yards and finished with 632 yards of total offense.

Louisville was a healthy underdog against visiting Notre Dame, but it gave the Irish a pretty good fight for at least a half. Notre Dame took the lead for good at 21-14 thanks to an 11-yard touchdown run from Ian Book with 17 seconds left before halftime. ND would pull away in the second half for a 35-17 win.

The Cardinals showcased a dynamic rushing attack, running for 249 yards and 5.3 yards per carry, but needed a better performance from quarterback Jawon Pass, who completed just 12 of 27 passes for 134 yards and fumbled three times.

Louisville also had a hard time stopping the run. Notre Dame ran for 230 yards and 5.5 yards a run.

Georgia Tech, transitioning away from the triple option offense of Paul Johnson, used three different quarterbacks but only competed 7 of 18 passes for 137 yards and a TD with two interceptions. It was for 157 yards against the Tigers.

In a weird game, UNC was the better team in a 24-20 win over South Carolina but also a had to rally from a 20-9 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

Freshman quarterback Sam Howell found his groove late just as South Carolina’s Jason Bentley lost his. Howell finished 15-of-24 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns in an impressive debut, while Bentley was 16 of 30 for 142 yards and a score but also two picks.

It was at the line however where the Heels impressed, particularly on the ground. It ran for 238 yards and 4.6 yards per carry while holding South Carolina to 128 rushing yards and 4.1 yards a run. Three different UNC running backs ran for over 50 yards.

Overall, UNC outgained South Carolina 483 to 270 in total yards.

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