NC State Wolfpack football scored its fourth consecutive win by defeating Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium.

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

It started with a crucial defensive stand with the game potentially on the line. Georgia Tech took over at its own 15-yard line with 8:10 left and the Wolfpack leading 20-13. For the first time in the second half, NC State's defense registered a three-and-out.

The Pack then took over at its own 34-yard line with 6:45 left, and it chose to be aggressive rather than milking the clock. Seven pass plays were called before NC State faced third-and-10 at the Georgia Tech 29-yard line. At that point, redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman called his own number and ran for seven yards.

Junior kicker Christopher Dunn then made a historic 39-yard field goal. It gave the Pack an insurmountable 10-point lead, and it also made Dunn the all-time leader in career field goals made at NC State.

1. The passing game: This may have been the finest hour of the season for Hockman and his receiving corps. Five different wide receivers caught passes of at least 20 yards, and Hockman went from completing just one of his first six pass attempts to connecting on 22 of 30 tries after that. He finished the game with 309 yards through the air and a 136.0 passer rating.

2. Red-zone/fourth-down defense: Between the 20-yard lines, Georgia Tech's offense played well enough to win this game. NC State though was able to tighten up the defense in the red zone and held the Jackets to just a pair of field goals in three drives inside the Wolfpack 20-yard line.

Three times Georgia Tech would go for it on fourth down in the game, including once in the red zone. All three times it failed.

3. Defending the pass: It's possible that upon review of the film, Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins is going to wonder why they tried to throw it so much. Freshman quarterback Jeff Sims was just 13-of-27 passing for 151 yards, and he bailed out quite a few passing plays with effective scrambles.

1. Defending the run: Georgia Tech ran for 261 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Going into this game it was known that the Yellow Jackets were a good rushing team, but it also played this contest without its best running back in freshman Jahmyr Gibbs. It still nearly had two 100-yard rushers.

Redshirt junior Jordan Mason was actually briefly over the century mark before falling back under to finish the contest with 99 yards on 21 rushes. Sims added 93 yards on 17 carries.

2. Running the football: Conversely, NC State struggled to run it. The Pack finished with just 88 yards on the ground while averaging a paltry 2.8 yards per rush. Somewhat curiously, sophomore running back Zonovan Knight only ran seven times for 38 yards. His 5.4 yards per rush made him the only Pack runner to rush for over 4.0 yards a carry.

3. Third-down defense: NC State was good at stopping Georgia Tech on fourth downs. Third downs, however, not so much. The Yellow Jackets converted on 10 of 19 third downs in the game.

The opening drive of the second half saw the Jackets convert a trio of third downs before kicking a short field goal, and the possession ate up 6:07 off the clock.

After NC State was stopped on a fourth-and-one at the Georgia Tech 10-yard line, the Jackets' second possession of the half saw three more third-down conversions before another short field goal. That drive took 7:02.

It's no wonder that Georgia Tech won time of possession 31:53-28:07, and why a game that the Pack appeared to be potentially on the verge of winning comfortably at halftime, while leading 20-7, ended up being a four-quarter contest.

NC State’s offensive line vs. Georgia Tech’s defensive front

Considering Georgia Tech was down a couple key defensive linemen, rushing for just 3.6 yards per carry after you remove sacks and kneel downs and allowing a couple of sacks was not a particularly strong performance from the Wolfpack.

Georgia Tech’s offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front

NC State got good pressure on Sims and sacked him three times, but they were gashed repeatedly in the run game. Overall, this was not the Wolfpack's best game at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. Georgia Tech’s secondary

A total mismatch and where NC State probably won the game. Five different receivers combined to catch 18 passes for 278 yards, an impressive average of 15.4 yards per catch.

Georgia Tech's wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

For the second straight week, the opposing receiving corps had one player who bothered NC State but no one else.

Syracuse rode junior Taj Harris, and Georgia Tech went often to redshirt junior Adonicas Sanders, who caught seven passes for 105 yards. Only one other receiver caught more than one pass, and there were only three completions outside of those to Sanders that went for at least 10 yards.

Quarterbacks

Sims is going to be a really potent weapon for Georgia Tech in the years to come. He looks like he can be, in time, an effective throwing quarterback, and he certainly is an athlete who can create plays with his legs.

However, in this game, Hockman was the better quarterback. One could make a case this was Hockman's best passing performance of the year.

Running backs

Mason had the best day of any running back carrying the football, but some of his teammates did well, too. Former four-star Pack commit and Tech sophomore Jamious Griffin ran three times for 25 yards, highlighted by an 18-yard run. Redshirt sophomore Dontae Smith had nine rushes for 43 yards.

It's safe to say Georgia Tech's running backs had a better evening.

Tight ends/fullbacks

NC State fifth-year senior Cary Angeline had a nice Senior Day, catching a pair of passes for 24 yards. The Wolfpack tried to get his classmate Dylan Autenrieth a touchdown, but Autenrieth couldn't cleanly haul in the pass and ended up getting just one yard on the reception.

Still, it's better than anything Georgia Tech's tight ends and fullbacks did. Sims tried to complete a pass to sophomore Dylan Deveney three times, and not once did they connect.

Special teams

NC State's first touchdown of the game was set up by an 18-yard punt return from redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas that gave the Wolfpack possession in Georgia Tech territory. That play alone gave NC State a win on the day in special teams.

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