NC State Wolfpack football fell to 1-1 in conference play Saturday with a 45-24 road loss to Virginia Tech in Lane Stadium.

Despite the end result, the run game remained effective with junior Ricky Person, sophomore Zonovan "Bam" Knight and sophomore Jordan Houston combining for 180 yards on 24 carries for an average of 7.5 yards per rush.

Here are the Top Five plays from the Wolfpack loss:

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary didn't come into the game until the 5:22 mark in the third quarter but was impressive in the three offensive drives he played. He finished the night completing 12 of 16 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown, including two completions for over 30 yards. We'll get to the other one later.

Facing fourth-and-8 with a deficit of 27 points late in the third quarter, Leary stood tall in the pocket and fired a rocket to an open Devin Carter who was able to break loose to get inside the red zone. Two plays later, Leary found C.J. Riley for a 7-yard touchdown pass that was Riley's first reception of the season.

It may have not seemed like it but this was likely the most important defensive play for the Wolfpack in the second half. While Virginia Tech was already leading by 24 at this point in the game, a Hokies touchdown would have sealed the game before Leary was able to come in on the following NC State possession.

Facing third-and-6, Tyler Baker-Williams did a nice job of getting around Virginia Tech's Jalen Holston to chase Braxton Burmeister backward to eventually come up with the 8-yard sack. It pushed the Hokies back far enough to force a 49-yard field goal attempt that was no guarantee. Virginia Tech's Brian Johnson converted his longest attempt of the night to put the Hokies up 37-10, but the stop by Baker-Williams kept the game within four possessions and could have kept it a three-score game with a missed field goal.

Credit junior nose tackle Alim McNeill with the assist on this sack as he diverted the attention of Virginia Tech's center and left guard to open up the gap for Isaiah Moore.

Moore's sack was the longest yardage loss for the Hokies offense all night and, at the time, seemed like a potential momentum shift as it took Virginia Tech quarterback Braxton Burmeister out of the game with hand cramps for the better part of two quarters. It didn't end up making a difference. Hokies third-string quarterback Quincy Patterson II was plenty effective completing 4 of 6 passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns along with 47 rushing yards on 10 carries.

No. 1's sack was still impressive and he finished the night with a team-best nine tackles.

Junior placekicker Christopher Dunn continues to rewrite the record books at NC State. This 53-yard connection as time expired was the fourth-longest make in school history and was the longest converted Wolfpack attempt since John Deraney made a 54-yarder in 2006.

Dunn has an active steak of 13 consecutive makes and has converted 46 of 52 attempts in his college career. Pack fans were hoping for a touchdown on this two-minute drill before the half, but the NFL-range field goal was still a thing of beauty.

We already mentioned one of Leary's explosive 30+ yard completions, but this 37-yard connection to redshirt junior Thayer Thomas stood out for many reasons.

For starters, Leary was under pressure from Virginia Tech defensive end Zion Debose to his right and defensive tackle Maxx Philpott up the middle. The redshirt sophomore did a great job of avoiding the sack, stepping up the pocket and tossing a 35-yard dime without setting his feet. Credit to Thomas for reaching out to make a leaping catch to make the play possible. This one would have gotten more credit had it not come in the fourth quarter when the game was clearly out of reach.

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