Published Dec 8, 2020
Top Five plays from NC State vs Georgia Tech
Justin H. Williams  •  TheWolfpackCentral
Staff Writer
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@JustinHWill

NC State Wolfpack football defeated Georiga Tech 23-13 in the 2020 regular-season finale Saturday.

The Pack finished the season with an 8-3 record and a program-record seven ACC victories. Redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman had his second-consecutive 300-yard performance and senior wide receiver Emeka Emezie led the team with six receptions for 91 yards.

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Here are the Top Five plays from the Wolfpack win:

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5. C.J. Riley's 36-yard catch from Hockman

Fifth-year senior wide receiver C.J. Riley had just three receptions for 32 yards this season entering Saturday. He more than doubled his season yardage total on one play.

NC State led 10-7 early in the second quarter when Hockman connected with Riley for a 36-yard gain from the Georgia Tech 41-yard line to put the Pack inside the Yellow Jackets' five.

One play later, sophomore running back Zonovan "Bam" Knight ran in a five-yard touchdown to give the Wolfpack a 10-point lead.

Riley finished the contest with a season-best performance of three receptions for 53 yards.

4. Emeka Emezie's impressive sideline catch for a first down

With 7:18 remaining in the second quarter, NC State took over at its own 35-yard line after forcing Georgia Tech to turn the ball over on downs in the previous play.

NC State went with a pass play on first down, and Hockman was forced to scramble left under pressure. He threw the ball to Emezie, who was closing in toward the left sideline and found a way to keep one foot in bounds to make the catch for a 17-yard gain.

The impressive catch sparked an eight-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a field goal to give the Pack a 20-7 lead in the final moments of the fourth quarter.

3. Ricky Person Jr.'s 20-yard touchdown run 

In the first play of the second quarter, junior running back Ricky Person Jr. rushed for a 20-yard touchdown that was NC State's longest run play of the night.

Person avoided a tackle at the Georgia Tech 16-yard line that would've held him to just a four-yard gain. He then accelerated to avoid a second Yellow Jackets defender inside the 10 before diving over the pylon into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.

Person led the Pack with 59 yards on 15 carries for one score in the win.

2. Christopher Dunn's record-breaking 39-yard field goal to ice the game

NC State had a seven-point lead with 3:31 remaining with junior placekicker Christopher Dunn nailed a 39-yard attempt to make it a 23-13 contest, effectively icing the game.

The kick was Dunn's 56th career make, which passed Niklas Sade's former program record of 55 career field goals. Dunn is now the all-time record holder at NC State with another two years of eligibility remaining after the season.

1. Devin Carter's 36-yard catch from Hockman 

Leading 17-7 midway through the second quarter, NC State faced third-and-five from the Georgia Tech 43-yard line.

Hockman dropped back to pass and thread the needle to find redshirt sophomore receiver Devin Carter, who made an equally-impressive catch in double coverage for a 36-yard completion to put the Pack inside the Yellow Jackets 10-yard line.

The completion tied for the second-longest offensive play of the night and Hockman finished with a second-consecutive 300-yard performance. Saturday marked Hockman's first start of his career without throwing at least one interception.

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