Saturday, September 2
Charlotte, NC
3 p.m.
NC State
0-1
28
vs
35
South Carolina
1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
South Carolina
14
7
14
0
35
NC State
14
7
0
7
28
Pack Comeback in Season Opener Falls Short
9/2/2017 7:17:00 PM | Football
Final Stats | Photo Gallery
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Down by seven late in the fourth quarter, NC State drove down to the USC 10-yard line in the final seconds, but was unable to find the equalizer as the Wolfpack fell to South Carolina 35-28 in the Belk College Kickoff in Charlotte.
A back-and-forth first half saw the two teams tied 21-21 at the break. NC State posted 343 yards of total offense and 19 first downs in the opening half behind QB Ryan Finley's stat line of 27-of-34 completions for 296 yards – one passing TD, one rushing score.
South Carolina scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 35-21 lead into the fourth. The Wolfpack punched the ball in on fourth down and pulled within seven with 12:21 left in the game.
NC State got the ball back at its own 28-yard line and took the ball 62 yards down into South Carolina territory. But the Gamecocks held the Pack to three incompletions and a sack on second down to seal the game,
WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE
14 plays, 75-yards in 5:51 – Ryan Finley six-yard TD run
After South Carolina took back the opening kickoff 94-yards for a TD, NC State responded with its own touchdown drive on its first offensive possession of the season. QB Ryan Finley capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive with a six-yard keeper. On the drive, Finley was 5-of-7 for 52 yards passing to go along with the rushing score.
STAT LEADERS
QB Ryan Finley – school record most completions, personal-best passing yards
45-of-64 and 415 yards, 2 TDs
H-Back Jaylen Samuels
15 catches for 85 yards, 1 TD
WR Stephen Louis
10 catches for 114 yards
CB Johnathan Alston – First career game played at CB
1 INT, 1 sack, 3 tackles
NOTABLES
• QB Ryan Finley set a new school record with his 45 completions, the fifth-most in ACC history. Finley also set a personal-best with 415 yards passing, the 11th-most in school history.
• H-Back Jaylen Samuels' 15 receptions tie the NC State school record for most catches in a single game. (Torry Holt vs. Wake Forest in 1998). The 15 catches were also one behind the ACC record of 16.
• The Wolfpack scored on its opening offensive possession of the season for the third straight year.
• True-freshmen to make their NC State debut: Emeka Emezie (WR), Raven Sanders (ST), Joshua Fedd-Jackson (ST), Chris Ingram (ST).
• Other NC State players to make their Wolfpack debuts: Brock Miller (ST), James Valdez (ST), Justin Witt (starter at RT), Joe Sculthorpe (OG), Dylan Autenrieth (TE), Carson Wise (ST), Philip Walton (ST), Shug Frazier (DT), Isaiah Stallings (ST), Daeshawn Stephens (ST), C.J. Riley (WR).
• NC State's 99 total plays set a new school record – besting the previous game-high of 98 offensive plays against Maryland in 2010.
Up Next
The Wolfpack will return to Carter-Finley Stadium next weekend, as NC State hosts Marshall on Saturday at 6 p.m in the home opener.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Down by seven late in the fourth quarter, NC State drove down to the USC 10-yard line in the final seconds, but was unable to find the equalizer as the Wolfpack fell to South Carolina 35-28 in the Belk College Kickoff in Charlotte.
A back-and-forth first half saw the two teams tied 21-21 at the break. NC State posted 343 yards of total offense and 19 first downs in the opening half behind QB Ryan Finley's stat line of 27-of-34 completions for 296 yards – one passing TD, one rushing score.
South Carolina scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 35-21 lead into the fourth. The Wolfpack punched the ball in on fourth down and pulled within seven with 12:21 left in the game.
NC State got the ball back at its own 28-yard line and took the ball 62 yards down into South Carolina territory. But the Gamecocks held the Pack to three incompletions and a sack on second down to seal the game,
WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE
14 plays, 75-yards in 5:51 – Ryan Finley six-yard TD run
After South Carolina took back the opening kickoff 94-yards for a TD, NC State responded with its own touchdown drive on its first offensive possession of the season. QB Ryan Finley capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive with a six-yard keeper. On the drive, Finley was 5-of-7 for 52 yards passing to go along with the rushing score.
STAT LEADERS
QB Ryan Finley – school record most completions, personal-best passing yards
45-of-64 and 415 yards, 2 TDs
H-Back Jaylen Samuels
15 catches for 85 yards, 1 TD
WR Stephen Louis
10 catches for 114 yards
CB Johnathan Alston – First career game played at CB
1 INT, 1 sack, 3 tackles
NOTABLES
• QB Ryan Finley set a new school record with his 45 completions, the fifth-most in ACC history. Finley also set a personal-best with 415 yards passing, the 11th-most in school history.
• H-Back Jaylen Samuels' 15 receptions tie the NC State school record for most catches in a single game. (Torry Holt vs. Wake Forest in 1998). The 15 catches were also one behind the ACC record of 16.
• The Wolfpack scored on its opening offensive possession of the season for the third straight year.
• True-freshmen to make their NC State debut: Emeka Emezie (WR), Raven Sanders (ST), Joshua Fedd-Jackson (ST), Chris Ingram (ST).
• Other NC State players to make their Wolfpack debuts: Brock Miller (ST), James Valdez (ST), Justin Witt (starter at RT), Joe Sculthorpe (OG), Dylan Autenrieth (TE), Carson Wise (ST), Philip Walton (ST), Shug Frazier (DT), Isaiah Stallings (ST), Daeshawn Stephens (ST), C.J. Riley (WR).
• NC State's 99 total plays set a new school record – besting the previous game-high of 98 offensive plays against Maryland in 2010.
Up Next
The Wolfpack will return to Carter-Finley Stadium next weekend, as NC State hosts Marshall on Saturday at 6 p.m in the home opener.
Team Stats
SC
ST
Total Yards
246
504
Pass Yards
215
415
Rushing Yards
31
89
Penalty Yards
45
65
1st Downs
12
29
3rd Downs
5
9
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
23:19
36:41
1st Quarter
SC 7, ST 0
SC - Samuel,Deebo 97 yd kickoff return (Woznick,A. kick)
SC 7, ST 7
ST - Finley, R. 6 yd run (Wise, C. kick), 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:51
SC 14, ST 7
SC - Dowdle,Rico 34 yd pass from Bentley,Jake (Woznick,A. kick) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:58
SC 14, ST 14
ST - Hines, N. 2 yd run (Wise, C. kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:07
2nd Quarter
SC 21, ST 14
SC - Samuel,Deebo 6 yd pass from Bentley,Jake (Woznick,A. kick) 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 3:18
SC 21, ST 21
ST - Meyers, J. 4 yd pass from Finley, R. (Wise, C. kick) 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 1:38
3rd Quarter
SC 28, ST 21
SC - Samuel,Deebo 39 yd pass from Bentley,Jake (Woznick,A. kick) 3 plays, 51 yards, TOP 1:25
SC 35, ST 21
SC - Dowdle,Rico 7 yd run (Woznick,A. kick), 2 plays, 13 yards, TOP 1:16
4th Quarter
SC 35, ST 28
ST - Samuels, J. 1 yd pass from Finley, R. (Wise, C. kick) 9 plays, 46 yards, TOP 3:33
Game Leaders
CMP
45
TD
2
YDS
415
INT
0
Players Mentioned
CB
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TE
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WR
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OT
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CB
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WR
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LB
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WR
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H
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C
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SAF
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CB
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PK
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OT
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