NC State survived a wild fourth quarter and beat App State 41-31, but the finish left plenty of frustration behind.
For most of the night, the Pack looked like the better team by a wide margin. They built a three-score lead and had the game in control for a long stretch, only to let App State claw all the way back into a contest it had no business threatening. By the end, what should have been a comfortable win had turned into another tense mess.
The turning point started with CJ Bailey making a bad play that turned into a gift interception. App State quickly cashed that in for points, and then came the onside kick that NC State looked completely unready for.
With App kicking off from midfield, the surprise attempt should have been obvious. Instead, the Pack were caught flat-footed, and that lapse landed squarely on the coaching staff.
Still, NC State answered when App tied the game. The offense responded with a methodical drive to retake the lead, and the defense followed by getting a fourth-down stop that sealed the outcome. A field goal after that stop pushed the final margin to 41-31 with about two minutes left.
Even with the win secured, the bigger picture was hard to ignore. NC State had the chance to put the game away well before it became dangerous, and it wasted that opportunity. The Pack were close to rebuilding some goodwill, then gave much of it back in the fourth quarter.
That’s been the maddening theme over the last two weeks: long stretches that look sharp, followed by brief bursts of poor execution that nearly undo everything. NC State has shown enough to believe it can play better than this. It just needs more poise, and a killer instinct.
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NC State Had Several Players Step Up When This Game Got Tight
NC State got the kind of win that can settle a team down for a week, even if it took a little more work than it appeared it might early on. The Wolfpack beat App State 41-31 and moved back to .500, with several players making sure the night did not turn into one of those frustrating losses where a lead slips away and nobody can quite stop the momentum.
Keenan Jackson, Popo Aguirre, Jackson Vick, CJ Bailey and Duke Scott all had a hand in keeping the game pointed NC States way when App State pushed back late. It was the sort of effort the Pack will want to bottle going forward, because the margin tightened, the pressure rose and the game still ended with NC State finding enough answers on both sides to finish the job. [Read more 🡒]