Following NC State’s second failed red-zone conversion of the afternoon with a 24-14 lead and 11:19 remaining in the fourth quarter, Virginia appeared to have stolen momentum when it took over on downs at its own 19-yard line.

Junior nose tackle Alim McNeill had a different idea.

On the very next play, the 6-foot-2, 320-pounder tipped a low-hanging pass attempt from Cavaliers quarterback Lindell Stone 10 feet into the air, intercepted the ball and ran it back 18 yards into the end zone to give the Wolfpack a three-possession lead in the final quarter.

“It was crazy,” McNeill recalled. “I told [defensive coordinator] coach Tony Gibson right before going to the locker room at halftime, ‘When we come back, I'm going to catch a pick-six.’ I was just talking crazy, but that's exactly what happened.

“It was fun. I was glad I was able to tip the ball, add some points to the scoreboard and contribute to the win.”

Prior to the big-man touchdown, the Wolfpack was suffering from a scoring drought that lasted just over 20 minutes of gameplay. What was once a 24-0 NC State lead with 2:03 remaining in the second quarter had dwindled to a two-possession ball game, and head coach Dave Doeren knew his team needed a spark.

“That was a great play by him, and we needed a play,” Doeren admitted. “We had just blocked a punt on the previous series and didn't score any points. It was a hell of a play by Alim. It's awesome to see him get a touchdown, a lineman's dream for sure.”

What was a necessary shot in the arm for the Wolfpack turned out to be the knockout punch for the Wahoos.

“It was huge,” McNeill said. “The sideline for Virginia, we could notice how they got down a little bit. When you see that in a team, that's when you attack. That's when you start going forward, and that's what we did.”

A touchdown from a 300-pounder sticks out like a bull in a china shop, but McNeill’s interception was just one of three for NC State in its first visit to Scott Stadium since 2011.

Entering Saturday’s contest, the Pack had yet to have its first pick of the season. Redshirt freshman corner Shyheim Battle grabbed the first of his career six minutes into the first quarter on a pass thrown by Virginia starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong. Freshman nickel Joshua Pierre-Louis came down with the second interception from Armstrong, who had to leave the game due to injury on the next Cavaliers drive as a result of a targeting penalty on junior safety Tanner Ingle who was ejected for the hit.

“Coach Gibson and the defensive staff are dealing with a lot of young guys. We're going to be a defense that grows and improves as the season goes on,” Doeren said. “They do have a lot of confidence. I think that comes from the way they're being coached. The kids are buying into the system, we're playing fast and it's fun.”

NC State had four total takeaways including a third-quarter fumble recovery by redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore. The Wolfpack won the turnover margin 4-1 and outscored the Cavaliers 17-0 as a result of the takeaways.

Sophomore running back Zonovan “Bam” Knight led the team in rushing with 101 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns. He added one reception for 12 yards for his third game of the season with over 100 all-purpose yards.

Virginia’s defense seemed to have an answer for Knight early in the game. The running back netted just 11 yards on his first seven carries before breaking loose on a 35-yard touchdown run with 2:03 remaining in the second quarter, which was the longest gain of the contest for the Pack offense.

“It was just a matter of the running backs being able to be more patient,” Knight admitted. “Throughout the first quarter, we started to pick up when they started to overrun the football. We sat down as a group, just us players, and we told each other we have to slow down and read through our blocks.”

Once the running back adjusted to the Cavaliers' run defense, the 5-foot-11, 206-pounder showed why he was given the nickname “Bam.” The Bailey, N.C., native refused to go down after contact on multiple occasions throughout the afternoon and at times appeared to require the entire Virginia defense to tackle him.

“I came from a Wing-T offense in high school. We were taught throughout my whole career to run your feet through contact,” Knight explained. “That has stuck with me because I did that for four years through high school. That's still the mindset I have. Even Coach Doeren this week was talking about getting YAC yards, yards after contact. That's something we strived for traveling to Virginia”

Knight accounted for 31.2 percent of the Wolfpack’s 363 yards of total offense and led NC State’s running backs for the fourth straight game with 5.6 yards per carry.

“We want to be able to just hurt people in every aspect of the game offensively,” Knight said. “That's something that we work on every week in practice, and I think we've been doing a good job lately.”

The biggest defensive play from the Pack’s 30-29 road win over No. 24 Pittsburgh two Saturdays ago was a fourth-down stop on the one-yard line during the Panthers’ first offensive drive of the second half. The stop retained NC State’s 17-13 lead early in the third quarter of the upset.

Virginia had a chance to make it a one-touchdown game early in the second quarter when it was able to get to the Wolfpack one-yard line on a 12-play, 74-yard drive. Cavaliers running back Wayne Taulapapa was credited with a touchdown on a three-yard rush on second-and-goal but was deemed down upon further review just inches from the end zone.

Enter NC State’s goal-line package, which features McNeill as a defensive end on the three-man front and 6-foot-4, 340-pound redshirt freshman defensive tackle Joshua Harris at the nose position.

“When we got somebody like Josh in there, you just expect it,” McNeill said. “I don't think anybody in the country can move Josh out of the way by themselves. We know they're not going to run it up the middle so they're going to try to balance it out.

“We had big ends in there, I was an end today, and Savion Jackson was the other end. We had no problem trying to get through the B-gaps with the tackles. When you have somebody like Josh in there, the confidence level is through the roof.”

On third-and-goal, McNeill and Ingle were credited with stopping Armstrong for no gain. The Virginia quarterback was stuffed again on the next play from a combo tackle by Harris and Jackson.

“It's a pride thing for the defense,” McNeill said. “Not letting them in from about one yard. They're a college football offense, and they can't score on us. It gives energy to the team when we get a fourth and goal stop. The offense comes out and wants to be firing and blazing just like we were on the field.”

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