A Memorable Win for Many Reasons

All three of NC State's touchdowns garnered ooh's and ahh's from the Homecoming crowd in a 24-17 win over Clemson at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. The touchdowns came from two of the Wolfpack's most explosive players . One you might expect, with receiver KC Concepcion finding the end zone twice, once on a 9-yarder and the other on a 72-yard catch and run.

But the other touchdown scorer was a first.

Linebacker Payton Wilson grabbed a tipped pass by Devon Betty and returned it 15 yards for his first career touchdown with the Wolfpack. The final few yards, Wilson went airborne - flying over the pylon and into the red end zone. It marked the Butkus candidate's first career TD and his second interception of the season.

During the bye week, the challenge was to tackle the four Rs...rest, recover, reflect, reload.

It resulted in a second straight win over the Tigers at Carter-Finley Stadium. It also marked the first time since 2011 that Clemson lost back-to-back games in the same season, with the Wolfpack contributing to that two-game losing streak 12 years ago as well.

Concepcion continues to play well beyond what you would expect from a college football freshman, ranking fourth in the ACC in receptions per game

His first touchdown came on a beautifully designed play where he motioned right and was left wide open for the score. The second touchdown was a simple slant that turned into showtime for number 10, a 72-yard touchdown.

"He had started off with press coverage and then he had backed off," Concepcion said of the play. "I looked inside and didn't see anybody inside of me. I felt like I just had to make one miss and then get to racing."

Concepcion tallied 134 all-purpose yards against the Tigers, including a 50-yard run coming out of the backfield. "He's playing inside receiver, outside receiver, running back, motioning him all over the place," head coach Dave Doeren said. "He's run in stretch zones, counters, every route you can run on the book. His football IQ for a guy his age, I've never seen anything like it."

The takeaway bone also got a workout in the win. The Wolfpack defense continued to create turnovers with a forced fumble and two interceptions, one by Wilson and the other by Devan Boykin. The offense converted the turnovers into a pair of touchdowns.

"Coming off a bye week, evaluating ourselves, knowing what we had to do, I think we had a little edge today," Boykin said. "Especially being back at home, having the crowd behind us, that was a big part of this game this afternoon."

The win was the 100th for Dave Doeren as a head coach and marked his 77th with the Wolfpack, which ties Earl Edwards for most in school history. It was meaningful to many.

"I'm very excited for him," linebacker Jaylon Scott said. "I know he appreciates us a lot. Knowing that he's surrounded with a group of fighters ... a group that's not going to quit. With us giving the opportunity to go get the 100th dub, it means a lot to the whole program."

It takes success, stability and longevity to have your name at the top of the coaching list. One name is listed but many share the accomplishment.

"A lot of great players and good coaches ... all of them deserve a piece of that and so I'm proud of it," Doeren said.

Doeren will have opportunity to take sole possession of that record on Saturday night against Miami, under the lights of Carter-Finley Stadium.

Players Mentioned

Devon Betty

Devan Boykin

Jaylon Scott

Payton Wilson

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