{"id":17489,"date":"2023-09-23T04:54:57","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T09:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=17489"},"modified":"2023-09-23T04:54:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T09:54:57","slug":"cooler-heads-prevail-nc-state-makes-critical-plays-leaves-uva-with-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/cooler-heads-prevail-nc-state-makes-critical-plays-leaves-uva-with-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooler heads prevail: NC State makes critical plays, leaves UVA with win"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most of NC State\u2019s<\/a> contest against UVA, the offense faltered underneath the Friday night lights in Charlottesville. But, for a select few drives, the unit clicked at the frequency needed to start 1-0 in ACC play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pack\u2019s complementary football kicked into gear in the final moments of the game. Redshirt sophomore receiver Julian Gray<\/a><\/strong>, who is establishing himself as one of the nation\u2019s top kick returners, ran back a UVA kickoff 35 yards to the Cavalier 48 yard line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, graduate student quarterback Brennan Armstrong<\/a><\/strong> controlled the final 36 seconds of the game with a few quarterback runs, setting up the eventual game-winning 33-yard kick by graduate student Brayden Narveson<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NC State finished strong\u2014 a theme that developed from the second quarter on. The Pack scored on its final drive before the end of each of the final three quarters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt says a lot about the grit of the team,\u201d head coach Dave Doeren<\/a><\/strong> said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we\u2019ve always been resilient. It\u2019s just good to see those guys be able to play well in clutch situations like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Converting on those momentum-shifting, game-defining drives helps decide contests like the Pack\u2019s 24-21 win. NC State won 4 games by 3 points or less last year. To do that again this year, the program needs to make the plays in the most critical moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite a lackluster offense outshone by Virginia freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea<\/a><\/strong> and only scored 10 points in the second half, the Pack showed up when it needed to the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those 10 points, scored on a pair of drives that took a total of 10 plays and spanned 107 yards, were both huge moments in the game that some teams, notably UVA Friday night, often fail to fully replicate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NC State went three and out on its first two drives of the second half, generating no offensive momentum as the Cavaliers cut the Pack lead to one point. Armstrong found Kevin Concepcion<\/a><\/strong> deep down the field, fitting the ball into the same space of open green grass in the seam that freshman wide receiver occupied all night at Scott Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pack playmaker wove his way through the defense and finished that explosive reception in the end zone. He left his first ACC game with a career high 6 catches for 116 yards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Armstrong completed 3 passes of more than 10 yards against the Cavaliers. When the offense is not clicking consistently, and the defense is doing everything it can to bend and not break against a Cavalier offense that tested the unit at times, the explosive plays that offensive coordinator Robert Anae<\/a><\/strong> tout take on even more importance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both teams traded blows throughout the contest and, with less than a minute to go, it looked like NC State was headed for its first overtime game of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After UVA scored a touchdown in the waning moments of the fourth, a personal foul knocked the 2-point try back to the 17 yard line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Virginia still converted the attempt, but another 15-yard penalty put the Cavaliers\u2019 kickoff team at a significant disadvantage against one of the nation\u2019s top kick returners. Graduate student linebacker Payton Wilson<\/a><\/strong> said UVA tried to take the emotions over the top throughout the game, but the Pack kept itself composed and took advantage of Virginia\u2019s game changing mistakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, 15 yards in this game is crucial,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cSo it\u2019s just a matter of staying under control. And luckily, I have great teammates that were there to help me do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

That set NC State apart and, even though this game could have been decided long before Narveson\u2019s ice-cold clutch kick, it helped start the Pack\u2019s ACC slate off on the right foot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found a way to win on the road against an inspired football team,\u201d Doeren said. \u201cShit, be happy we won. It\u2019s a good win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Cooler heads prevail: NC State makes critical plays, leaves UVA with win<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most of NC State\u2019s contest against UVA, the offense faltered underneath the Friday night…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}