NC State’s offense wasn’t sharp Saturday, but it didn’t need to be against visiting Texas Tech.
The Wolfpack’s defense and special teams created its own breaks, and none were more spectacular than sophomore cornerback Aydan White picking off a fourth-down pass and sprinting 84 yards for a touchdown that gave the Wolfpack a comfortable 20-0 lead with 4:40 left in the second quarter. White later capped his mega-game with a second interception, and he added five tackles and a sack.
NC State rolled to a surprising easy 27-14 win despite its offensive struggles, and improved to 3-0 on the season. NCSU hosts UConn (1-3 overall) next Saturday night, with the Huskies falling 59-0 to Michigan.
White looked forward to playing a passing game and delivered with redshirt sophomore cornerback Shyheim Battle out with an injury. He figured the last time he returned a long interception for a touchdown was playing youth football.
“The defense as a whole played really good, and we had four takeaway’s,” White said. “That was a DB’s dream right there, just seeing the green.”
NC State also took advantage of Texas Tech fumbling a punt at its own 14-yard line, with long snapper Joe Shimko recovering it. Self-inflicted wounds led to senior kicker Christopher Dunn to make a 29-yard field goal to give the Wolfpack a 3-0 lead.
Texas Tech’s 29-yard punt to the NC State 44-yard line eventually set up Dunn’s 47-yard field goal and a 6-0 lead with 2:29 left in the first quarter.
“Special teams were very dominant today in that game,” Doeren said. “Chris is really in a good rhythm with his kicks.”
The two opportunities not leading to touchdowns were unfortunate, but the Wolfpack defense was so stout in the first half that the Red Raiders struggle until their last drive of the half.
Texas Tech rushed for just 24 yards in the first half, and 136 total. The Red Raiders had over 100 plays in the double-overtime win over Houston last week, but had just 32 plays in the first half.
NC State’s offense was effective on outside running plays by backs Jordan Houston and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. The latter ran for a 14-yard touchdown for the Wolfpack’s first touchdown score.
The problem was the passing game. Star quarterback Devin Leary went 6-of-12 passing for just 38 yards in the first half, and was only marginally better in the second half. The issue didn’t prove glaring due to the other Texas Tech miscues, but it wasn’t ideal. Neither was NCSU wide receivers combining for eight catches for 40 yards.
Leary finished going 15-of-23 passing for 121 yards and rushed five times for minus-12 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over but also wasn’t responsible for a touchdown. Doeren figured Leary will be hard on himself in film study.
“Devin is frustrated and I know he can play better,” Doeren said. “The guys have to help him too. We have to make catches for him.”
As another example of NC State offense stepping up in an unconventional manner, the Wolfpack stuffed Texas Tech on fourth down and eight, which seems an odd move for the Red Raiders to go for it at it’s own 35-yard line. The very next player, the Wolfpack threw a backward pass to Thayer Thomas, who found Sumo-Karngbaye for a 38-yard score to put the game away 27-7 with 14:20 left in the game.
Sumo-Karngbaye was glad Doeren had his back after he had fumbled earlier in the game going into the end zone.
“I found him on the bench and he had his head down,” Doeren said. “I told him to look me in the eyes. I said, ‘You need to make up for that.’”
Defense shuts down Texas Tech's quarterback
Texas Tech backup sophomore quarterback Donovan Smith never found his groove against a terrific NC State defense. His final passing numbers were OK, but don’t tell the whole story. Smith was sacked four times and rushed 11 times for minus-nine yards and a touchdown.
The Wolfpack shut down Texas Tech’s ground game and Smith wasn’t good enough to carry the offense. He had lost the starting job during fall camp, but starting quarterback Tyler Shough broke his collarbone in the season opener.
Smith finished going 21-of-36 passing for 214 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, before exiting the game on the Red Raiders last possession.
“I thought [defensive coordinator and linebackers] Coach [Tony] Gibson called some good blitzes at the right time, and mixed it up,” Doeren said.
Redshirt freshman Behren Morton came in at quarterback for the final two series of the game. He threw the Red Raiders’ third interception of the game to White.
NC State redshirt sophomore defensive end C.J. Clark came off the bench for two sacks, and Aydan White added a sack to go with his interception. Junior safety Jakeen Harris got an interception in the fourth quarter to complete the big defensive night.
The few negatives of the night included senior nickel Tyler Baker-Williams getting injured, and then his replacement Devan Boykin, the second-string sophomore strong safety, got dinged up toward the end of the game at nickel. NC State also had backup sophomore nickel Joshua Pierre-Louis out, and finished the game with redshirt freshman Jalen Frazier.
Junior running back Jordan Houston also got dinged up up in the third quarter.
In the good news department involving injuries, NC State redshirt junior outside linebacker Payton Wilson returned to the lineup, and he had a team-high 10 tackles, with three of them solo.
“It was awesome playing with the guys,” Wilson said. “It means the world to me get back out there and compete with them. We have built such a great bond here. It’s truly awesome.”
Wilson played the most snaps since the Georgia Tech game Dec. 5, 2020.
“I’m super happy for him,” Doeren said. “I think the whole locker room is super happy for Payton.”
Much-needed Power Five Conference victory
Wins over Power Five teams in non-conference and bowls games have been hard to come by over the years under coach Doeren.
NC State last defeated a high major opponent was in 2017, when the Wolfpack whipped Arizona State in a bowl game. In 2016, NC State topped Notre Dame in a hurricane, and then defeated Vanderbilt in the bowl game. The Texas Tech win Saturday is Doeren’s fourth win in 10 attempts.
Opportunities haven’t always been there either, though some of that was bad luck. NC State was supposed to play West Virginia and Mississippi State in 2020 , and UCLA last year, but COVID got in the way.
Mixed in were bowl losses to Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Kentucky, and regular season losses to MSU Bulldogs and West Virginia.
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