NC State
Liberty
Wolfpack Extinguishes Flames, 43-21
9/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2011
NC State postgame quotes (PDF)
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RALEIGH, N.C. - After watching the offense carry the weight through most of the 2010 season, NC State linebacker and senior captain Audie Cole said Monday that he hoped the defense would return the favor in 2011. Cole got his wish, at least through week one. The NC State defense forced seven turnovers for the first time since 1983 to tie a school record and returned one for a touchdown while dropping Liberty 43-21 on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
"[Early in the game] we were kind of floundering around, but we found a way to win on defense," NC State head coach Tom O'Brien said. "It's about time we did something like that on defense here. We have to run the football better, and we have to protect the quarterback better. Then the offense will find a way to pick it up the way the defense has."
Though the defense filled up the highlight reel, junior quarterback Mike Glennon acquitted himself well in his first career start, going 18-of-31 passing for 156 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
"He's only a first-time starter," said O'Brien. "He's going to make the mistakes that he did, but his learning curve is so high. He got hit, it didn't phase him, he scrambled, he got away from pressure, and he made some plays."
The NC State backfield enjoyed the spotlight in the second half, when Curtis Underwood and James Washington racked up the majority of their combined 181 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Underwood finished as the lead back with 114 yards on 14 carries, but Washington hit paydirt once more than his counterpart, scoring two touchdowns on 14 carries.
Defensively, the Wolfpack boasted stars all over the field. Earl Wolff led the team with 10 tackles, forced a fumble, and hauled in an interception. David Amerson snagged two picks to go with his eight tackles. Brian Slay scooped up two fumbles and returned one for a touchdown. Audie Cole recovered a fumble, D.J. Green came away with an interception, and Thomas Teal and Art Norman added one sack apiece.
"I just wanted to play hard," said Slay, "and if I did that, I thought everything else would work itself out. My dream's actually to get an interception, but I'll take the fumble. On the return, I was just trying to get to the goal line as fast as I could, but when I saw a wall of red, I knew that I'd be able to make it."
NC State's defense sparked a scoring explosion in the second half.
Brian Slay recovered a fumble at midfield and scampered to the end zone to push the Pack lead to 16 early in the third. The 48-yard fumble return marks the fourth longest in school history. Earl Wolff forced the fumble on a takedown of Liberty quarterback Mike Brown after a short run.
Liberty responded to bring the margin back to eight. Chris Summers did the damage on a 27-yard reception from Brown. The Flames converted the two-point conversion to make it 23-15.
Needing an answer, T.J. Graham set the Wolfpack up with ideal field position, returning the ensuing kickoff to the Liberty 33-yard line. Curtis Underwood accounted for the entire drive, bounding through the Liberty defense for a 33-yard touchdown run.
Liberty covered 40 yards in eight plays on the next drive, adding a 50-yard field goal to cut the NC State lead to 12. The Flames threatened again before the end of the third, driving inside the Wolfpack 25 as the quarter ran out. Early in the fourth, the Pack came up with a stop, forcing Liberty to settle for a 38-yard field goal to make it 30-21.
At the 8:00 mark in the fourth quarter, NC State looked to take control as Curtis Underwood broke a 35-yard run into Liberty territory, but a replay challenge on a fumble at the tail end of the run went the Flames' way.
On the next play, Liberty's fortunes reversed. Jeff Rieskamp jarred the ball away from Brown, allowing Slay his second fumble recovery of the game. The Pack offense cashed in seven plays and 43 yards later on Mario Carter's first career touchdown reception, a three-yard pass from Glennon.
David Amerson corralled an errant Brown pass on the next possession, returning the pick 47 yards to the Liberty 19. One play later, James Washington took an off-tackle handoff to the house untouched for the 43-21 victory.
A quick start for Liberty came to a close as Slay and Art Norman combined on a sack to stall the Flames' first drive at the Pack 35-yard line.
The Wolfpack offense got on track midway through the first quarter with an 11-play, 64-yard drive, culminating in a 33-yard Niklas Sade field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Audie Cole recovered a fumble off of a Daryl Cato-Bishop sack on Liberty's first possession of the second quarter. On the very next play, Liberty returned the favor to take a 7-3 lead, as Francis Bah scooped and scored on a 32-yard fumble return after a Walt Aikens sack.
Wolff hauled in a tipped ball to record his first interception of the season, switching the field for the Pack. NC State could not capitalize on the field position, and punted back to Liberty.
Unable to move the ball on its possession, Liberty punted the ball back to the Wolfpack, pinning the Pack at its own 25-yard line, but a defensive holding penalty allowed the Flames to kick the ball again from 10 yards closer to midfield. Bad decision. Graham returned the second punt 82 yards for a touchdown, his fourth career return touchdown, the 11th longest in school history.
The ensuing Liberty possession concluded when Green picked off a pass at the 45, the first interception of his career. The NC State offense answered the bell this time when Glennon hit a diving Jay Smith on a post route, and followed with an 18-yard completion to Quinton Payton to push inside the Liberty 5. Two Washington rushes took it the rest of the way, as NC State headed to halftime leading 16-7.
Next Saturday, NC State opens Atlantic Coast Conference play at 3:30 p.m. ET with a visit to Wake Forest.
