Three-Touchdown Second Quarter Propels Pack to 41-0 Shutout

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RALEIGH, N.C. – After just three points on its first four possessions of the game, NC State scored on six straight drives and shut out visiting Western Carolina, 41-0.

The lone points in the first quarter came on a Christopher Dunn 32-yard field, but the Pack broke the game open in the second quarter with a trio of touchdowns to go up 24-0 at the half.

After being held to 57 yards of offense (32 rushing) in the first quarter, the Pack had 207 yards of offense and 103 rushing yards in the second quarter.

NC State went on to score on six straight possessions overall and secured its first shutout since 2015.

NC State dominated in many statistical categories, including 540 yards of total offense to just 106 for the Catamounts. In fact, Western Carolina had 61 yards in the first quarter and just 45 the rest of the game.

NC State out-rushed WCU 309-8, the biggest run differential since 2014 against North Carolina (388-30).

WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE
7 plays, 65 yards in 2:21 – Ricky Person, Jr. 6-yd TD run.

The first TD of the game came on the Pack's first possession of the second quarter, as the Pack went 65 yards in seven plays capped by a Ricky Person, Jr., six-yard run. Fr. DB Cecil Powell lined up at wide receiver and caught an 8-yard pass, with WCU being flagged for a 15 yard face mask on the play to start the drive. The last four plays of the drive were all rushes for Person, going 29 yards.

STAT LEADERS
QB Matthew McKay
18-of-28 for 200 yards, 1 TD

RB Zonovan Knight
18 carries for 119 yards, 2 TDs

RB Jordan Houston
8 rushes for 73 yards, 1 TD

TE Cary Angeline
4 catches for 47 yards, 1 TD

NOTABLES
• NC State has now won 32 straight games against FCS/Division 1-AA teams, a streak that dates back to 1987.

• NC State has also won 15 straight non-conference games at home and is 18-1 at home under Doeren.

• NC State has also won 16 straight games with 1:00 p.m. or earlier start times, dating back to 2016, and nine straight such contests at Carter-Finley Stadium.

• The shutout was the first for NC State since 2015 (Eastern Kentucky).

• Dating back to last season, NC State has now not given up a touchdown in three straight home contests. That is the longest streak without the opponent finding the end zone at Carter-Finley since the home finale in the 1990 season and the first two games of 1991.

• RB Zonovan Knight finished with 116 yards rushing, going over 100 yards in only his second career game. Knight becomes the 57th player in school history with a 100-yard rushing game, and accomplishing the feat in his second career game is the fastest for a player since Shadrach Thornton did so in his first career game in 2012.

• With his 32-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 25-yard FG in the third, PK Christopher Dunn has now connected on 19 consecutive field goal attempts dating back to last season.

• CB Teshaun Smith started his first career game, filling in for the injured Nick McCloud. WR Devin Carter also recorded his first career start.

• Fr. DB Cecil Powell lined up at WR for the first snap of the Pack's first TD drive. He caught a pass for eight yards, and drew a 15-yard face mask foul on the play to start the drive.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
"First of all, just really proud of a lot of the guys in the game. To get a shutout and to hold a team to eight yards rushing. Defensive guys did a great job. I thought we started slow on offense and then got the run game going. It was great for Bam (Knight) to get his first 100-yard game. I thought Jordan Houston gave us a good spark in the second half with his change of pace. The tight ends got involved in the passing game. We had 7 catches at tight end, so that was good to see.

We did some good things. Obviously, there are things we have got to do better. It was good to see us get a takeaway at the end of the game. I was proud of how they played for four quarters. We got a lot of guys out there; we played a ton of people, which is great for our roster. I think we came out of the game relatively healthy, which is really good. Nice hot day, and we are looking forward to the next one." - NC State head coach Dave Doeren

UP NEXT
NC State will be in road action for the first time next weekend, as the Pack will play at West Virginia next Saturday. The game will be at noon and televised on FS1.

Three-Touchdown Second Quarter Propels Pack to 41-0 Shutout

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Team Stats

Chris Ingram

Bailey Hockman

Players Mentioned

Cary Angeline

Devin Carter

Christopher Dunn

Jordan Houston

Zonovan Knight

Nick McCloud

Matthew McKay

Ricky Person, Jr.

Cecil Powell

Teshaun Smith