RALEIGH — N.C. State's defense thought it did its job on the first series of the game, forcing Georgia Tech's high-powered offense to punt before it picked up a first down.

But Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson dialed up a fake punt, a run by upback Jemea Thomas, which completely fooled N.C. State and covered 27 yards.

With the new life, Tech scored a touchdown four plays later, a 13-yard run by Orwin Smith.

The Jackets ended up putting up the first 21 points of the game, putting State in a hole for the third time in as many games against an FBS opponent.

"That hurt," N.C. State senior linebacker Audie Cole said. "After that we fell apart for a little bit. We pulled it together and played decent for a while but it was too much to come back from."

Mental mistakes and penalties were also a problem for the Wolfpack.

On a second-quarter drive, in which State converted twice on fourth down, it got hit for an illegal substation penalty and a personal foul, which derailed the 19-play drive.

Three times in the second half, Tech's offense drew an offside penalty against State's over-eager defense on fourth down.

State, one of the least penalized teams in the ACC, was flagged seven times for 35 yards.

TWO MORE TO THE INJURED LIST: Eleven State players missed the game with injuries, and two more joined the list -- punter Wil Baumann before the game even started. Baumann tweaked his hamstring in warmups and couldn't play. J. Ellis Flint punted three times in his stead without incident.

"It's never ending," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said of the injuries. O'Brien added he's never had a player get injured in warmups.

The Pack also lost fullback Taylor Gentry, who hurt an ankle in the second quarter. Gentry, who also played defensive tackle during the game, sat out the second half.

Tyler Purvis subbed for Gentry at fullback and caught two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Gentry had a two-touchdown game earlier in the season against South Alabama.

QUIET DAY FOR GRAHAM: N.C. State senior receiver T.J. Graham posted back-to-back 100-yard games coming into Saturday's game.

The Yellow Jackets held Graham without a catch on Saturday.

Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon, who completed 20-of-29 passes for 163 yards, said Tech double-teamed Graham for most of the game.

"It's just one of those games, our reads were just taking elsewhere," Glennon said.

Running back James Washington led State with five catches for 35 yards. Glennon's second-favorite target, Tobias Palmer, also had a quiet day with only two catches for six yards.