NC State Host East Carolina For Season Opener In Raleigh
Last season NC State closed out the regular season by hosting East Carolina.
This season the team that is located in North Carolina’s state capital who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference will open the season against East Carolina who is a member of the American Athletic Conference and who finished with a record of 3-9 under Scottie Montgomery a season ago.
This season though East Carolina has a new head coach in Mike Houston who previously was the head coach at James Madison University where The Dukes recorded consecutive 14-1 seasons in 2016 and 2017, which was a school record for single-season victories. JMU won a CAA and program-record 26-straight games between the two seasons, which ranks second all-time in FCS history. The Dukes sported a 15-3 ledger against Top 25 teams during Houston's three seasons, claimed a 34-14 victory over the Pirates in 2017 and hosted ESPN's College GameDay twice in three years. Houston led the Dukes to the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS Football Championship with a 28-14 win over No. 13 Youngstown State. In 2017, JMU made a return trip to the national title game before falling 17-13 to No. 2 North Dakota State. His final game as the Dukes' head coach ended with a 23-20 setback at No. 9 Colgate during second round action of the FCS Playoffs.”according to https://ecupirates.com/coaches.aspx?rc=3271&path=football
As for last season’s meeting between NC State and East Carolina,
NC State scored on its first four possessions and jumped out to a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter, as the Wolfpack closed out the 2018 regular season with a 58-3 home win over East Carolina. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
The margin of victory for the Pack (9-3) was the most since a 65-7 win over Murray State in 2009. On the day, NC State outgained ECU 655-104, including a 234-31 rushing advantage. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
NC State scored on all three of its possessions in the first quarter. The Pack started with a 23-yard Christopher Dunn field goal. Then Ryan Finley found Kelvin Harmon from 14 yards and, and Reggie Gallaspy, Jr., rushed one in from 11 yards out to take a 17-0 after the opening quarter. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
In the first quarter, NC State had 224 yards of total offense, including 157 through the air. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
Finley found Jakobi Meyers from 24-yards out to start the second quarter, and Dunn's 28-yard field goal closed the half with NC State up 24-0. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
The Pack tacked on another pair of TDs in the third quarter – Finley to Thayer Thomas for 3 yards, and Gallaspy from four yards out – to take a 41-0 lead. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
Dunn kicked his third field goal of the game in the fourth. The Pack also got rushing scores from center Garrett Bradbury (1 yard) and back-up QB Woody Cornwell (11 yards) in the fourth. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
The Pirates avoided the shutout with a 46-yard field goal as time expired. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/1/football-wolfpack-barrels-past-east-carolina-58-3.aspx?path=football
As for how NC State finished the 2018 season,
Dave Doeren’s team went to the Tax Slayor Gator Bowl where they were crushed by Texas A &M who’s head coach is Jimbo Fisher who used to coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference as he was the head coach at Florida State before taking the head coaching job in College Station on December 4th 2017. “according to https://12thman.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1108&path=football
The NC State football team fell in the 2018 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to #21 Texas A&M, 52-13, in front of 38,206 fans at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
Two plays into the game, Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond kept the ball and scrambled for a 62-yard rushing score to open the scoring. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
NC State went on to score 13 unanswered points, followed by 45 unanswered by the Aggies to close out the scoring. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
PK Christopher Dunn connected on field goals of 43 and 49 yards, and in between those two kicks QB Ryan Finley found C.J. Riley for a 9-yard score through the air. With 10:45 left in the first half, NC State was up 13-7. “according https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
The Aggies scored on back-to-back possessions to end the half, a 2-yard rush and 6-yard pass to take a 21-13 lead into the half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
Texas A&M got touchdowns on its first two possessions of the second half to take a 35-13 lead with five minutes to go in the third quarter, and another pair of TDs in the fourth quarter, along with a 35-yard field goal. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE
5 plays, 27 yards in 1:35 – Ryan Finley to C.J. Riley 9-yard TD pass “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
The Pack scored its first touchdown of the day on the first play of the second quarter. After an interception by DT Eurndraus Bryant gave the Pack the ball at the Texas A&M 27-yard line, NC State scored in five plays on a Ryan Finley to C.J. Riley 9-yard TD pass. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
STAT LEADERS
• QB Ryan Finley
19-of-32 for 139 yards, 1 TD
• RB Reggie Gallaspy, Jr.
14 carries for 79 yards
• WR C.J. Riley
6 catches for 33 yards, 1 TD
• S Jarius Morehead
9 tackles, 5 solo stops
“according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
NOTABLES
• The Pack's nine wins on the season tie as the second-most in school history, only behind 11 in 2002. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
• Punter A.J. Cole III started his 52nd career game at NC State, a new school record breaking the previous high of 51 set by QB Philip Rivers (2000-03). “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
• Placekicker Christopher Dunn went 2-of-2 on field goals today, including a career-best from 49 yards out. Dunn made his last 15 field goal attempts on the season, and had eight games with at least two. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/31/football-wolfpack-falls-in-taxslayer-gator-bowl.aspx?path=football
As for how East Carolina who is a member of the American Athletic Conference finished the 2018 season, The Pirates finished with a record of 3-9 and lost to NC State to closeout their season on December 3rd.
ECU's football team walked out of Carter-Finley Stadium late Saturday afternoon with 58-3 loss to NC State and a third consecutive 3-9 season. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Now the attention turns to finding a new leader for the program and beginning a major rebuild before the Pirates return to Raleigh to open the 2019 season. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Scottie Montgomery's tenure as head coach ended with his dismissal Thursday, just two days before the season-ending game that was added after each team had a high-profile game washed out by Hurricane Florence. Arguably Montgomery's highlight at ECU came in just his second game in a 33-30 win over NC State in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, giving the Pirates their third-straight win against the Wolfpack. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
First-year defensive coordinator David Blackwell inherited the coaching duties for Saturday's finale, but the Pirates could not match the Wolfpack's deep and talented offense, especially with freshman quarterback Holton Ahlers sidelined with a right knee sprain. The only thing they salvaged was avoiding being shut out for the first time 21 years when Jake Verity kicked a 46-yard field goal on the game's final play. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
"They're a good group of young men," Blackwell said of his team. "They fight their tails off. We just ran out of weapons today. We got so thin on the offensive line, but they keep fighting. They keep trying. Sometimes it just isn't good enough." “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
NC State (9-3) established its dominance from the start in front of a crowd of 57,223 as it picked up its ninth win and tuned up for a fifth-straight bowl appearance. The Wolfpack finished with 655 yards and limited the Pirates to just 104. That total stood at 55 yards before Anthony Scott's 53-yard dash with less than two minutes left. The Wolfpack also had a 32-4 advantage in first downs. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Senior quarterback Ryan Finley wrapped up his final home game by completing 32 of 44 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was junior wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who had 13 catches for a career-best 163 yards and one score. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Senior running back Reggie Gallaspy, coming off a five-touchdown performance in last week's overtime win at UNC, gave NC State its third consecutive 1,000-yard rusher, grinding out a career-high 220 yards on 24 carries and a pair of scores. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Center Garrett Bradbury lined up at fullback in the fourth quarter and barreled in on a 1-yard run to give NC State a 51-0 lead. Senior reserve quarterback Woody Cornwell scored from 14 yards out on his only career carry making it 58-0. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
For the second-straight week, the Pirates' fate essentially was sealed by halftime. After trailing Cincinnati 42-6 in the first half in what ended up a 56-6 rout, ECU suffered its first shutout after two quarters and trailed NC State 27-0. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
The Wolfpack picked up a field goal and three touchdowns on the first four possessions and capped the half with Chris Dunn's 28-yard field goal, his 20th of the season to tie a single-season school record. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Dunn broke the record with 12:57 to play, booting a 26-yarder for his 13th consecutive made field goal and a 44-0 lead. Finley had 329 yards through the air by halftime, and the Wolfpack owned a 388-73 advantage in total yards. Reid Herring, starting for the injured Ahlers, passed for just 69 yards in the opening half, completing 8 of 19 passes with one interception, picked off by Nate McCloud at the 1-yard line and ending the Pirates' most serious early threat. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
ECU came up with a pair of turnovers but could not cash them in. Freshman Daniel Charles snared a Finley pass to stop one Wolfpack threat, and Bennet Boateng pounced on a Thayer Thomas fumble of a punt. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
The Pirates struggled on third down, converting just 1 of 8 in the first half – one apparent conversion was overturned on a review of a pass to Tahj Deans – and 1 of 15 for the game. The Wolfpack converted 5 of 8 third downs in the opening half and 10 of 16 for the game, using mostly big plays.”according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
NC State settled for a field goal after reaching the 5 on its first possession, then found the end zone on three-straight series for a 24-0 lead. Finley sandwiched a pair of touchdown passes around an 11-yard run by Gallaspy, tossing 11 yards to Harmon and 24 yards to Meyers. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
ECU's quarterback dilemma clouded even more with 10:55 left in the third quarter when Herring suffered am apparent shoulder injury on a sack by Tim Kidd-Glass. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Kingsley Ifedi entered for just one series, exiting after his first pass was intercepted by Jarius Morehead and returned 27 yards to the ECU 5. Gallaspy scored two plays later for his 19th rushing TD of the season. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
The Pirates turned to freshman Caiden Norman of nearby Clayton to close out the game. He attempted two passes and completed one for four yards. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
ECU senior Nate Harvey capped of the 2018 campaign with 25.5 TFLs (-125 yards) and with his nine-yard sack in the second quarter, he tied The American single-season sack record held by Louisville's Marcus Smith (14.5 in 2013) and fell a half sack short of tying the ECU single-season record of 15.0, which is held by Rod Coleman (1997). “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
The Pirates' defense set the single-season record with 105 TFLs surpassing the previous mark of 98, which was set in 2007. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Ahlers will be back to lead the 2019 team along with some highly touted recruits. Who leads them from the sidelines will be determined soon. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Blackwell, a former ECU player, hopes to be part of that equation but did not say if he wanted to be head coach. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
"I love this university," he said. "I love this program. It's a part of me. It's too early to talk about that." “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
Blackwell said he had been in contact with Montgomery since Thursday's announcement. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
"I talked to (Montgomery) late Thursday night and then we've stayed in touch," Blackwell said. "One thing about Scottie Montgomery is he's not an excuse-maker. He takes responsibility and my conversations with him were him apologizing a lot to the staff and us about feeling like he let us down. “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
"My side of that is we feel like as coaches that we let him down. … There were so many positives throughout the season that got lost in the last two games." “according to https://ecupirates.com/news/2018/12/1/football-ecu-drops-season-finale-at-nc-state.aspx
What will the outcome be this season? Will NC State blowout East Carolina or will East Carolina who has a new head coach bounce back from that loss last season?
Kick-Off is set for 12:00pm from Carter Finley Stadium. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.