East Carolina senior running back Rahjai Harris broke free for a 86-yard touchdown run to deliver an upset victory against NC State on Saturday in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md.
The Pirates came out focused and determined in taking an early lead, putting the Wolfpack on their heels. What NC State wasn’t prepared for or expected was Harris to finish with 17 carries for 220 yards and a touchdown and sophomore quarterback Katin Houser to add 13 carries for 84 yards and two scores on the ground. ECU finished with 39 carries for 326 yards and three touchdowns, leaving NC State stunned.
“Hard to win a football game when you give up 300 yards rushing,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said.
ECU improved to 8-5 overall and NC State finished its disappointing season at 6-7. The two teams, who ended up having a combined eight ejections toward the end of the game, open up against each other in Raleigh next fall.
Doeren said the season came down to one-possession games. That was true in losses against Wake Forest, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and now East Carolina. NC State was also down seven points to Duke with 9:01 left.
“Gut-wrenching,” Doeren said. “It's hard when you lose a game like that five times. We also had some one-possession wins that were incredible. Our last game of the year was one of them [vs. North Carolina].”
Another signature problem this season was giving up big plays at crucial moments. Whether it was UNC running back Omarion Hampton running for a 75-yard touchdown and also catching a 47-yard score in the regular season finale or Harris bursting through for an 86-yard score, it’s been a major issue this season.
NC State has allowed 14 touchdowns of at least 30 yards this season, and had it happen at least twice in four games.
NC State played under interim defensive coordinator Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay in the Military Bowl, and star defensive end Davin Vann didn’t play in the contest. ECU went 12 of 16 on third-down conversions, and made one fourth-down conversion.
“Stopping the run is about a lot of things,” Doeren said. “It's gap integrity, it's beating blocks, it's leveraging the ball, it's tackling and it's pursuit.
“There was a lot of those things that weren't good enough in this game.”
The flow of the game was somewhat similar to the Georgia Tech game. The Yellow Jackets took a 23-14 lead with 6:40 left in the four quarter. The Wolfpack roared back with redshirt freshman running back Daylan Smothers the catalyst. NCSU took a 29-23 lead on Smothers’ 53-yard run with 1:30 left. Georgia Tech went right down the field to win it in the end 30-29.
NC State fell behind 20-7 to East Carolina, and again it was Smothers who helped spark the offense. A trick play reverse flea flicker led to freshman quarterback Cedrick Bailey to throw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Smothers to give the Wolfpack a 21-20 lead with 9:49 left in the game.
This time, NC State couldn’t close it out, leading to Harris’ heroics in the end, with an assist to defensive back Dontavius Nash, a former North Carolina transfer. Bailey’s pass to Smothers went off his hands and Nash caught it at the ECU 29-yard line with 44 seconds left in the game.
Nash’s interception helped counteract a little bit of the two interceptions Houser threw to redshirt freshman nickel Tamarcus Cooley.
The reworked offensive line — senior left tackle Anthony Belton and senior right guard Timothy McKay didn’t play in the contest — paved the way for Smothers to get 139 yards on 15 carries, plus two catches for 42 yards and a score. Smothers didn’t get a touch in the third quarter.
“Hollywood [Smothers] had a hell of a football game,” Doeren said. “The ball goes through his hands, and that kid makes that play 99 times out of 100, and he didn’t.”
The offensive line inserted redshirt freshman Kamen Smith at right guard and redshirt sophomore Valen Erickson at right tackle, which shifted redshirt sophomore Jacarrius Peak to left tackle. The running game had one play that proved crucial.
NC State was facing fourth and one at the ECU 24-yard line with 8:41 left in the first quarter. Instead of taking the potential three points, the Wolfpack went for it. Smothers went up the middle and lost a yard. Those three points loomed large when trailing by six in the fourth quarter.
“In the first half, we had drives that ended without points several times,” Doeren said. “Moved the ball well throughout the first half and did nothing to stop them.”
ECU coach Blake Harrell, who shed the interim label with how the Pirates played down the stretch, is looking forward to playing NC State again. He also has embraced the stigma of his program being looked at as the “step-brother” in the state of North Carolina.
“I don’t think you can look at our fans and not call it a rivalry,” Harrell said. “It is an hour and 15 minutes up the road. There are a couple of other schools about the same distance. Maybe they should put us on their schedule as well instead of trying to take our players.
“If we are going to be looked at as the step-brother, little step-brother, that’s fine. These guys are going to compete.”
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