Richmond Spiders vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Match Player Stats On Sep 07, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 7, 2013

North Carolina State 23, Richmond 21: Niklas Sade kicked a 48-yard field goal with 33 seconds left to lift the Wolfpack over the pesky visiting Spiders.

Pete Thomas completed 24-of-31 passes for 237 yards in his first start and Bryant Shirreffs rushed for a touchdown and passed for another for North Carolina State (2-0). Thomas completed four passes on the decisive drive, setting up Sade for his second field goal of longer than 45 yards in the contest.

Michael Strauss went 29-for-45 for 300 yards and a pair of touchdown passes for Richmond (1-1) but had a 55-yard Hail Mary attempt batted away in the final seconds. Stephen Barnette caught five passes for 94 yards and a touchdown for the Spiders.

Shirreffs came in to run the wildcat package at quarterback and broke for a 28-yard touchdown run to give the Wolfpack a 10-7 lead early, but Strauss fired off a 14-yard scoring pass and Jacobi Green rushed for a score to help Richmond take a 21-13 lead into the half.

A series of fumbles from both sides marred the third quarter, but Shirreffs managed to turn one into a score with a 7-yard pass to draw North Carolina State within 21-20. The Wolfpack had a chance to grab the lead back with 6:16 left in the third, but Shirreffs fumbled on the Richmond 5-yard line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thomas was making the start in place of Brandon Mitchell, who was hurt in Week 1 and will be out 4-to-6 weeks. Thomas, who lost a close camp battle to Mitchell, was also second on the team with 47 yards rushing on nine carries. Tony Creecy led the way with 56 yards on the ground. กญ Sade is 7-for-7 on field-goal attempts through two games, including 3-of-3 from longer than 40 yards. กญ Richmond was attempting to knock off an ACC team for the second time in three years after beating Duke 23-21 in the 2011 season opener.