NC State played its best game of the season in topping Wake Forest 30-21 on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Wolfpack won their 16th straight home game and executed the game plan to perfection.
NC State improved to 7-2 overall and host Boston College on Saturday.
Most important play
Wake Forest reached the one-yard line and came away with zero points. NC State middle linebacker Isaiah Moore made two tackles for loss for minus-seven yards on the first two plays. Then Moore blitzed and got a sack for a loss of another seven yards.
WFU kicker Matthew Dennis missed the 35-yard field goal to start the second quarter. Those three points loomed large and changed the chess match for the game. That loomed large when Wake Forest scored with 6:54 left to make it 27-21. If it had been 27-24, the strategy for the game would have been different.
As an offensive complement, the touchdown pass where freshman quarterback MJ Morris scrambled left and senior wide receiver Darryl Jones went from the right side of the formation all the way left and caught a 13-yard touchdown to make it 17-14 with 1:30 left in the second quarter.
Three game balls
1. Quarterback MJ Morris
Morris played with poise and energy in going 18-of-28 passing for 210 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He added 19 runs for 43 yards, but he showed what he could do when he's turned loose in the passing game and on roll outs.
2. Middle linebacker Isaiah Moore
Moore earned co-ACC linebacker of the week after a team-high 10 tackles, one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and he batted down a key ball. Moore's three plays on NC State's goal-line stand helped change the game.
3. Outside linebacker Drake Thomas
Thomas had nine tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks, plus four quarterback hurries. He made life difficult for Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman with his various blitzes.
Key statistic advantage
NC State held two big statistical advantages — rushing yards and creating turnovers.
NC State rushed for 115 yards and held Wake Forest to just 17 yards on 26 carries. Shutting down the run game put more pressure on Hartman, and just as importantly, NC State made sure the scrambling quarterback stayed in the pocket for the most part.
Hartman ended up throwing three interceptions and was rushed and hurried throughout the game.
What NC State did well
NC State did so many things well, some of which has already been discussed like shutting down the Wake Forest running game and getting three interceptions.
NC State ended up with seven quarterback hurries and four sacks and were creative with its blitzes. They kept Hartman in the pocket and made it difficult any time he tried to step up in the pocket.
Junior wide receiver Keyon Lesane dominated a series for NC State en route to three catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.
NC State senior kicker Christopher Dunn made three field goals, including a 51-yarder, and backup punter Caden Noonkester came through and averaged 45.3 yards on three punts, and Thayer Thomas pinned a punt down at the one-yard line.
What needs improvement
NC State did the best it could against Wake Forest star wide receiver A.T. Perry, but he showed why he's a future NFL player. He finished with 12 catches for 159 yard and a touchdown. Perry was targeted 19 times and his longest catch was 29 yards, so no super big plays.
The Wolfpack ran the ball just well enough to get by, but did have some nice runs with superb blocking. The final stats were 41 carries for 115 yards, which was only a 2.8 average. Running backs Jordan Houston and Michael Allen in particular combined to average 5.2 yards per carry, showing the stats don't tell the whole story.
NC State had the ball at its own 30-yard line with 66 seconds left in the first half, and went semi-conservative. The Wolfpack only needed to get 40 yards to get into field-goal range, but ended up only gaining five yards and punted to end the half.
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