NC State Wolfpack football scored its second win of the season over a top-25 opponent when it knocked off previously unbeaten No. 21 Liberty, 15-14, Saturday evening at Carter-Finley Stadium.

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

The moments don't get any more key than a game-clinching field goal block …

1. Containing Liberty redshirt junior quarterback Malik Willis: One of the reasons why Liberty probably felt confident was because it had Willis.

While Liberty had not played a tough schedule, against the two ACC teams the Flames previously faced off with, the quarterback was dynamic. He was 16-of-20 passing for 182 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 58 yards and another score at Syracuse, and then at Virginia Tech he completed 20 of 30 throws for 217 yards and three TDs and rushed for 108 yards and one more score. Liberty also won both games.

Against NC State, Willis — who had just one interception all year prior to Saturday — was picked off three times and completed just 13 of 32 passes for 172 yards, though he did throw for two scores. He ran for 44 yards, and his 2.9 yards per rush were a season-low.

2. Non-offensive big plays: NC State intercepted three passes on the day, and two of them were huge fourth-quarter turnovers. A pick by freshman Aydan White in particular stands out because it set up what would be the game-winning touchdown.

The defense was also responsible for two points of its own when redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore made a tackle for a safety in the third quarter, and then, of course, the special teams saved the day with the blocked field goal at the end.

3. Running the football for most of the night: With the exception of the third quarter, NC State ran the ball effectively on Liberty. It finished the game with 166 yards on 39 carries, or 4.3 yards per rush.

However, if you remove sacks and kneel downs from the equation, those numbers improve to 34 runs for 203 yards, or almost 6.0 yards a carry.

The third quarter, though, saw NC State come out with a net negative of 18 yards for the 15 minutes.

1. The passing game: The bottom line is that it seemed off in all facets. The offensive line allowed three sacks and four more pressures. Receivers were not often seen running free and open, and of course redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman was off himself.

At times Hockman appeared to stare down receivers, and he also had ball security issues. He let a shotgun snap slip through his hands, lost the grip on the football on another occasion and also threw a costly interception near the end zone.

Overall, NC State had a season-low 154 passing yards.

2. Discipline: The passing game was reason 1A in why NC State had to hold on for dear life to prevail over Liberty. Penalties were 1B. Head coach Dave Doeren looked after the game like he was still fuming about having 14 flags for 123 yards thrown on his squad in the contest.

Liberty was able to gain four first downs because of NC State defensive penalties, and then there were numerous drive-killing flags on offense.

3. Two-minute drill defense: Liberty tied the game before halftime thanks to an 84-yard touchdown drive that started with 2:32 left in the second quarter and ended on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Willis to redshirt sophomore receiver Noah Frith with just 19 seconds remaining on the clock. One of the aforementioned first downs via Pack penalty sustained the possession.

Then with the Wolfpack up 15-14 and 4:12 left, the Flames started a possession at its own 8-yard line and drove to the NC State 21 before redshirt junior Vi Jones' heroics on the field goal block with 1:18 left in the contest.

NC State’s offensive line vs. Liberty’s defensive front

On the one hand, for most of the night NC State ran the football very effectively. On the other hand, the Flames finished with three sacks and four quarterback hurries. Throw in multiple holding flags on the Wolfpack, and one is tempted to give the edge to Liberty.

Liberty’s offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front

The Pack showed up here. It had three sacks of its own and seven QB hurries. It also ended the contest with eight overall tackles for loss, and the Flames were held to just 2.8 yards per rush. This was a decisive win for the Wolfpack.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. Liberty’s secondary

NC State's wideouts ended the contest with just five catches, and none by redshirt junior Thayer Thomas a week after he had 11 receptions in the win over Florida State. Senior Emeka Emezie's one catch was a big play of 55 yards, but the other four receptions by Pack receivers went for just 27 yards.

This was a win for Liberty.

Liberty's wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

Frith entered Saturday with just seven receptions for 92 yards and a score on the season, but he stepped up with four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown against the Wolfpack. However, the rest of Liberty's deep receiving corps were held in check and below their season averages, giving the edge here to the Wolfpack.

Quarterbacks

Both struggled, but Hockman only turning it over once compared to three times for Willis may end up being the difference in deciding who was more effective on this evening.

Running backs

If it was not for the bizarre run struggles in the third quarter, NC State could have ended up with a pair of running backs going over 100 yards. Sophomore Zonovan "Bam" Knight ended with 14 runs for 96 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Ricky Person Jr. added 14 carries for 83 yards.

They easily were the standouts among the running backs on Saturday.

Tight ends/fullbacks

This was pretty much a wash. NC State fifth-year senior Cary Angeline caught two passes for 21 yards, while his classmate and counterpart on the other sideline, Liberty's Johnny Huntley III, had two catches for 24 yards.

Special teams

NC State had issues on special teams. Junior Christopher Dunn had a rare miss inside 40 yards when he was wide from 37 yards, and redshirt junior safety Max Fisher had a silly personal foul penalty trying to jump over the protective wall in front of the punter, granting an automatic first down to Liberty.

Yet, ultimately NC State gets the win here because of not only Jones' blocked field goal, but also Hockman's pooch punt to pin Liberty at the 3-yard line, setting up Moore's safety one play later.

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