SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 15, 2014
North Carolina State 42, Wake Forest 13: Matt Dayes ran for two touchdowns and caught another as the host Wolfpack became bowl-eligible.
The win also snapped a seven-game conference home losing streak for North Carolina State (6-5, 2-5 ACC), which rushed for 362 yards. Jacoby Brissett completed 8-of-19 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown while Shadrach Thornton rushed for a game-high 110 yards and a touchdown for the Wolfpack, who finished 3-9 a year ago in coach Dave Doeren's first year as head coach.
Isaiah Robinson had a 4-yard touchdown run and Mike Weaver kicked a pair of field goals for Wake Forest (2-8, 0-6), which lost its sixth straight game. John Wolford completed 15-of-32 passes for 161 yards but failed to throw for any touchdowns as the Demon Deacons finished with 219 total yards.
N.C. State built a 21-3 halftime lead behind touchdown runs of 2 yards by Tony Creecy and 1 yard by Dayes while adding a 7-yard toss from Brissett to Dayes late in the second quarter. The Wolfpack increased the lead to 28-3 on the first play of the second half when wide receiver Bryan Underwood went 75 yards on a reverse to score.
Wake Forest closed to within 28-6 on Weaver's second field goal of the game, a 39-yarder, but N.C. State ended any comeback hopes when Thornton scored on a 1-yard run and Dayes added a 2-yarder to make it 42-6 after three quarters. Robinson ended the scoring with a 4-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter, capping a 16-play, 76-yard drive.
GAME NOTEBOOK: N.C. State K Niklas Sade kicked six PATs to give him 317 career points, breaking the school mark of 312 held by running back Ted Brown (1975-78). ... Wake Forest, which entered the game ranked last in the nation in rushing offense with an average of 31.4 yards per game, finished with 58 yards on the ground on 35 attempts. ... The Wolfpack have scored 40 or more points in a game five times this season.