NC State’s offseason of dreaming of making the college football playoffs quickly turned into needing a big fourth quarter to pull away from Western Carolina on Thursday.
No. 24-ranked NC State showcased its revved up offensive personnel, but also found some ways to draw concern. Through it all, the winning formula of keep getting the ball to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Concepcion paid off. Concepcion caught nine passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns, and the Wolfpack pulled away for a 38-21 win.
"The coaches' message was that we have a whole lot of work to do," Concepcion said. "We were expecting a blowout, but every game is not expected to be a blowout. We saw things we have to work on. We saw things we have to fix. We also saw some things going good."
It just wasn’t easy. Concepcion’s 35-yard touchdown catch gave the Wolfpack a 24-21 lead with 14:45 left in the fourth quarter. NC State was then able to relax and close out the gutsy Catamounts with a 21-0 fourth-quarter run.
“I thought KC had a great game offensively and sparked us,” said NCSU coach Dave Doeren, who figures his team wore down the Catamounts. “I was proud of Jordan Waters responding because I didn’t think he played well in the first half. That is great to see. That is what you look for.”
NC State’s struggles involved a costly interception by sixth-year senior quarterback Grayson McCall, which led to a 8-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Jake Young to give WCU an early 7-0 lead.
The other two sore spots for NC State was going for it on fourth and a yard twice, only to get stuffed on both run calls. It brought up some memories of past games — East Carolina in the season opener in 2022 for instance — and gave Western Carolina some momentum.
NC State also would have had another fumble if not for the hustle of new tight end Justin Joly, a Connecticut transfer.
“Offensively, didn’t convert on some drives,” Doeren said. “We went for it on fourth down twice and didn’t get it and there was some frustration there. I really loved how we responded [in the second half].”
NC State’s final numbers look good and that shows some of the potential. McCall went 26-of-40 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns.
“A lot of people talk about how we have the best fans in the country, and I got to see that tonight,” McCall said. “It was a great atmosphere and fun environment.
“I don’t think I showed my best tonight, but a lot to work on and improve on.”
The Coastal Carolina transfer helped the Wolfpack have 12 more first downs than Western Carolina (28-to-16).
“He played a good football game and kept drives alive and used his feet,” Doeren said. “He protected the football. He had the one pick early, but after that he settled in and played a good football game.”
McCall and the coaches were able to communicate through his helmet, and the Wolfpack also had tablets on the sidelines to see what was happening in real time.
"It's a really good thing to have when defenses are doing a lot of different things," McCall said. "You can go on the iPad and see exactly what they are doing. The in-helmet communication was really good. Everything went smooth tonight."
Duke transfer Jordan Waters overcame a slow start and took advantage of Western Carolina’s defense being worn down in the fourth quarter. He rushed 20 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He entered the final quarter with 33 yards, and finished the game tying his career-high for yards, which he set last year against NC State.
NCSU out-gained Western Carolina 521-361, and had a dominating 35:30-to-24:30 time of possession battle. Western Carolina junior quarterback Cole Gonzales went 22-of-35 passing for 211 yards and two scores, plus ran six times for 75 yards in the loss.
NC State lost redshirt junior middle linebacker Caden Fordham early in the game due to a targeting call, and played without senior nickel Ja’Had Carter, who was out for the game with a minor injury. NC State played redshirt junior middle linebacker Jayland Parker in Fordham’s place, and he had seven tackles. Both Maryland transfers, Tamarcus Cooley and Corey Coley, helped replace Carter.
Parker, senior cornerback Aydan White and senior safety Donovan Kaufman led the defense with seven tackles apiece. The defense had two sacks and four tackles for loss.
“Caden is one of our better players and not having him hurt the defense,” Doeren said. “He’s a physical presence in the run game. He plays hard, he’s tough and he shows good leadership skills.
“He [Carter] could have played tonight, but having him 100 percent for the next couple of games is more important. You’ll see him against Tennessee.”
NC State turns its attention to play Tennessee on Sept. 7 at Bank of Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Tennessee plays Tennessee-Chattanooga at 12:45 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network.
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral
Follow on Instagram/Threads:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
