NC State Wolfpack football scored a convincing season-opening win by crushing South Florida, 45-0, on Thursday evening at Carter-Finley Stadium.

It’s time for a final look at the contest with some Monday morning quarterbacking:

You could make a case it came on the game's opening drive.

NC State was facing an early third and eight from its own 38 when redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage. What probably should have been an incomplete pass was instead snagged by redshirt freshman tight end Christopher Toudle out of the air. Toudle managed to muscle ahead for a few extra yards, turning it into a 15-yard gain.

Leary would convert another third and long later in the drive before connecting with junior running back Ricky Person Jr. on a wheel route for a 33-yard touchdown, and the Wolfpack never looked back.

1. The defense: Sure, NC State probably got away with a few errant passes by USF's quarterbacks on open receivers downfield, and it took advantage of some inexperience QB play to pick off a couple of passes in the red zone. The bottom line is that a shutout is a shutout, and holding anyone scoreless at the FBS level in modern college football is quite an accomplishment.

2. Running to the left: Per game stats provided from PFF, NC State ran 32 times for 271 yards, averaging 8.5 yards per carry, when it ran to the left. It recorded a first down 11 times going that direction, and it had nine carries gain at least 10 yards. Most of that success was off the tight end when he lined up there and also behind All-American candidate sophomore left tackle Ikem Ekwonu.

3. Playing a clean game: Leary certainly would want his interception back. Uncharacteristically the strong-armed Leary underthrew a wide open redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas for what would have been a touchdown had the pass been on the mark. That was a rare blemish in what was otherwise a clean game for the Pack. It was penalized only three times for 25 yards, a major point of emphasis going into the season.

1. Getting the USF quarterbacks on the ground: A year ago, USF was tied for 116th out of 127 teams at the FBS level in sacks allowed per game at 3.33. NC State got close to the quarterbacks a bunch of times, registering a high number of hurries at 10. However, it did not once get either Cade Fortin or Timmy McClain for a sack.

2. Running to the right (compared to the left): NC State was not bad running to the right side, averaging a respectable 4.1 yards per carry. However, in only carried seven times that direction (for 29 yards) and did not have a single run of more than 10 yards. You can probably get away with such an imbalance between running left and right against USF and in the season opener, but eventually the Wolfpack will want to make teams respect its ability to run off the right side of the line.

3. Getting Ben Finley some snaps: This was the perfect game to get the backup quarterback a series or two, but USF went on an over 7.5-minute drive on its final possession before it stalled on downs inside the NC State five-yard line with just 42 seconds left.

That meant Finley received just one snap on offense (he also took a snap for a designed pooch punt).

NC State’s offensive line vs. South Florida’s defensive front

When you run for 293 yards (300 yards if you do not include a 7-yard loss on a sack) and surrender just the one sack, you crush it. That's what NC State did.

South Florida’s offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front

NC State won the matchup but perhaps not as dominating as hoped. USF only averaged 3.3 yards per carry and as previously noted the Pack had 10 quarterback hurries. Yet it did not get a sack.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. South Florida’s secondary

Pack receivers got open deep multiple occasions, and Leary did a nice job spreading the wealth around. NC State won the matchup, but it did not need to utilize it much because it was dominating on the ground.

South Florida's wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

There were a couple of times where USF receivers got open deep but the quarterback did not get the ball there. South Florida's Xavier Weaver was able to win a couple of battles for gains of 44 and 29 yards, but otherwise NC State's secondary held up well.

Quarterbacks

This was not close. Leary was 17 of 26 for 232 yards and two touchdowns and an interception while USF's QBs combined to go 14 of 33 for 167 yards with three picks.

Running backs

Again, not close. Both Person and sophomore Zonovan Knight had big all-around games. Person had 148 total yards (105 rushing and 43 receiving) and three touchdowns. Knight added 179 yards (163 rushing and 16 receiving) and a score.

Their combined rushing total almost outgained USF by themselves. The Bulls finished with 271 total yards.

Tight ends/fullbacks

South Florida's Mitchell Brinkman did finish with two catches for 35 yards on a couple of well designed passes. Toudle and redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix combined for three receptions for 26 yards.

Special teams

This was a draw. South Florida's Andrew Stokes had a big day punting, averaging 45.1 yards on his eight boots. Plus, running back Brian Battie had a nice 33-yard kickoff return for the Bulls.

For NC State, there were no mistakes on special teams. Finley did a good job on his pooch punt, and both redshirt junior Trenton Gill and junior Christopher Dunn kicked well.

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