Pack Opens Season in Offensive Shootout with 45-42 Win over Wake Forest

Saturday, September 19

Raleigh, N.C.

8 p.m.

NC State

1-0 , 1-0

Wake Forest

0-2 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Wake Forest

NC State

Pack Opens Season in Offensive Shootout with 45-42 Win over Wake Forest

9/20/2020 12:27:00 AM | Football

Box Score

NC State rushes for 270 yards and four scores

Final Stats | Postgame Press Conference | Photo Gallery

RALEIGH, N.C. – A back-and-forth contest that came down to a pair of back-to-back sacks for NC State in the final minutes, saw the Wolfpack win its 2020 season opener 45-42 over Wake Forest at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Pack (1-0, 1-0 ACC) jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, but the Demon Deacons (0-2, 0-2 ACC) evened the score at the half.

NC State once again scored the first two TDs of the half in the second half and retook the lead at 35-21 early in the third quarter.

Wake grabbed its first lead of the contest at 42-38 with 9:12 left to play using a 21-3 run.

On the ensuing possession, NC State went ahead for good after an 8-play, 75-yard TD drive.

Wake Forest got the ball back down three with 2:25 remaining, but the Pack got back-to-back sacks by Vi Jones and Daniel Joseph to force a 4^th-and-21 which Wake could not convert and the Pack got the ball back with just 1:10 to play to run out the clock.

WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE
5 plays, 75 yards in 1:56 – Zonovan Knight 30-yard TD run

The Pack took the opening kick of the 2020 season for a quick TD, scoring less then two minutes into the game. The Pack went 75 yards in only five plays, highlighted by a 33 yard Ricky Peron, Jr. rush and capped by a 30-yard TD run by Zonovan Knight.

STAT LEADERS
• QB Bailey Hockman
16-of-23 for 191 yards, 1 TD

• RB Ricky Person, Jr.
14 rushes for 99 yards, 2 TDs
1-of-1 for 2 yards, 1 TD

• RB Zonovan Knight
11 rushes for 97 yards, 1 TD

• LB Drake Thomas
12 tackles, 1 sack

• DE Daniel Joseph
5 tackles, 2 sacks

NOTABLES
• The Pack scored a touchdown on each of its first three drives of the game. The last time a NC State team opened with three TD drives was against Furman in 2017.

• The 45 points scored were the most for the Pack in a game since against East Carolina in 2018 (58) and the most in an ACC game since Louisville also in 2018 (51).

• For the second straight season, RB Zonovan Knight scored the Pack's first TD of the season. What is unique for the sophomore, is both of those TDs were on his first touch of the season – a 9-yard TD run against East Carolina last year and 30 yards today.

• QB Bailey Hockman completed his first 12 passes in the game. He was 13-of-17 at the half, missing his last four attempts.

• PK Christopher Dunn booted a 30-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Dating back to last season, he has now hit his last 12 FG attempts. The FG gave the Pack a 38-25 lead with 13:19 left in the game.

• NC State had 270 yards rushing as a team, the most in an ACC game since 292 vs North Carolina in 2017, a span of 28 games.

• Five true freshmen made their Wolfpack debuts: DL Nick Booker-Brown, WR Porter Rooks, CB Aydan White, LB Devon Betty, S Devan Boykin.

• Transfers S Rakeim Ashford, LB Vi Jones, DE Daniel Joseph all made their NC State debuts as well.

UP NEXT
The Pack will be in road action next Saturday, traveling up to Virginia Tech for an 8 p.m. game on the ACC Network.