Isaiah Moore sacks Wake Forest quarterback SAM HARTMAN
Complimentary Football Defined in 16th Straight Home Win
11/6/2022 12:26:00 PM | Football
NC State's 30-21 homecoming win over Wake Forest tied a school record of 16 consecutive wins at home. The last time that happened was from 1972-1975 under coach Lou Holtz.
That's 47 years ago! Let that sink in for a moment.
The Wolfpack's win was a testament to complimentary football.
Defense
Wake Forest had the second-highest scoring offense in the ACC with 39 points per game, but the Pack's defense held the Deacs to a season-tying low 21 points. The formula consisted of creating turnovers, applying relentless pressure on the quarterback and limiting Wake Forest to just 17 yards rushing.
Jakeen Harris had an interception on Wake's first possession, then Cyrus Fagan and Aydan White added to the Pack's pick party of three.
A shining example of how productive the defense would be came in the first quarter when Wake Forest had first and goal at the one yard line. Linebacker Isaiah Moore had a hand in three straight plays behind the line of scrimmage and his nine-yard sack forced Wake Forest to attempt a field goal, which was no good.
"When they got down to the one and we knocked them back on three consecutive plays and ended up missing the field goal, that was a huge moment in the game," Coach Dave Doeren said. "We showed a lot of resilience and toughness which is what we're made of."
Moore stacked the stat sheet tying his season-high with 10 tackles. That included 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
It came 2 days after losing his grandmother: Maxine Bell
Saturday morning, Moore shared a story with his defensive teammates about the person he described as the matriarch of the family. "Everything my Nana did, she never missed an opportunity to make somebody smile," Moore explained. "We had an opportunity to make a lot of people smile tonight and I just wanted them to take advantage of that and appreciate the gift that God gave us."
Moore pointed out that Wake Forest had scored 87 points on the Pack the last two times they faced each other. "We really took this game personal."
Offense
Quarterback MJ Morris made his first career start, marking the first time in 22 years that a true freshman started for the Wolfpack under center. Philip Rivers was the last to do so.
Trailing 7-3 in the second quarter, Morris went to work with an ice-breaking, third-down, 44-yard completion to Keyon Lesane. The drive was capped by the same two connecting on a 12-yard slant route for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Morris slid to his left to escape the rush and while on the run, he found Darryl Jones for the first of two touchdown catches on the night.
For the second week in a row, Morris threw three touchdowns and did not have an interception or a fumble. "You can't ask for anything more from a true-freshman quarterback," Doeren said. "He's done it in practice, the games, and he's got the players playing hard for him. They believe in him and he's taking care of the ball. He's way ahead of where we thought he would be at this point in his career so we're really proud of him."
Sitting on the ACC Network's Huddle set after the game, Morris was asked who has helped him the most in the move from third team into the starting role. "Grant Gibson, Isaiah Moore, Devin Leary," Morris said. "Really everybody on the team coming up to me every day saying, 'you got this. Just go out there and do everything you can do. We believe in you.' To hear that as a 19-year-old, that just means the world to me. That's special."
Special teams
Christopher Dunn hit three more field goals and is now a perfect 18 for 18 on the season. Walk-on punter Caden Noonkester entered the game for injured Shane McDonough and blasted a 55-yard punt on his first attempt. On kick returns, Julian Gray averaged 27 yards on 3 returns. Thayer Thomas, the Pack's most productive receiver, was flawless in punt returns and as part of the coverage team, he downed a punt at the one yard line.
Next week the Wolfpack will close out the home schedule at 3:30 against Boston College. It will be Senior Day for a large number of Pack players with a chance for a program first; to win 17 games in a row at home.
By Jeff Gravley
That's 47 years ago! Let that sink in for a moment.
The Wolfpack's win was a testament to complimentary football.
Defense
Wake Forest had the second-highest scoring offense in the ACC with 39 points per game, but the Pack's defense held the Deacs to a season-tying low 21 points. The formula consisted of creating turnovers, applying relentless pressure on the quarterback and limiting Wake Forest to just 17 yards rushing.
Jakeen Harris had an interception on Wake's first possession, then Cyrus Fagan and Aydan White added to the Pack's pick party of three.
A shining example of how productive the defense would be came in the first quarter when Wake Forest had first and goal at the one yard line. Linebacker Isaiah Moore had a hand in three straight plays behind the line of scrimmage and his nine-yard sack forced Wake Forest to attempt a field goal, which was no good.
"When they got down to the one and we knocked them back on three consecutive plays and ended up missing the field goal, that was a huge moment in the game," Coach Dave Doeren said. "We showed a lot of resilience and toughness which is what we're made of."
Moore stacked the stat sheet tying his season-high with 10 tackles. That included 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
It came 2 days after losing his grandmother: Maxine Bell
Saturday morning, Moore shared a story with his defensive teammates about the person he described as the matriarch of the family. "Everything my Nana did, she never missed an opportunity to make somebody smile," Moore explained. "We had an opportunity to make a lot of people smile tonight and I just wanted them to take advantage of that and appreciate the gift that God gave us."
Moore pointed out that Wake Forest had scored 87 points on the Pack the last two times they faced each other. "We really took this game personal."
Offense
Quarterback MJ Morris made his first career start, marking the first time in 22 years that a true freshman started for the Wolfpack under center. Philip Rivers was the last to do so.
Trailing 7-3 in the second quarter, Morris went to work with an ice-breaking, third-down, 44-yard completion to Keyon Lesane. The drive was capped by the same two connecting on a 12-yard slant route for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Morris slid to his left to escape the rush and while on the run, he found Darryl Jones for the first of two touchdown catches on the night.
For the second week in a row, Morris threw three touchdowns and did not have an interception or a fumble. "You can't ask for anything more from a true-freshman quarterback," Doeren said. "He's done it in practice, the games, and he's got the players playing hard for him. They believe in him and he's taking care of the ball. He's way ahead of where we thought he would be at this point in his career so we're really proud of him."
Sitting on the ACC Network's Huddle set after the game, Morris was asked who has helped him the most in the move from third team into the starting role. "Grant Gibson, Isaiah Moore, Devin Leary," Morris said. "Really everybody on the team coming up to me every day saying, 'you got this. Just go out there and do everything you can do. We believe in you.' To hear that as a 19-year-old, that just means the world to me. That's special."
Special teams
Christopher Dunn hit three more field goals and is now a perfect 18 for 18 on the season. Walk-on punter Caden Noonkester entered the game for injured Shane McDonough and blasted a 55-yard punt on his first attempt. On kick returns, Julian Gray averaged 27 yards on 3 returns. Thayer Thomas, the Pack's most productive receiver, was flawless in punt returns and as part of the coverage team, he downed a punt at the one yard line.
Next week the Wolfpack will close out the home schedule at 3:30 against Boston College. It will be Senior Day for a large number of Pack players with a chance for a program first; to win 17 games in a row at home.
By Jeff Gravley
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