Good start, bad finish for NC State in 28-13 loss at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech didn’t need Michael Brewer to beat N.C. State on Friday night. Backup quarterback Brenden Motley was more than enough.

Motley threw three touchdowns, all to receiver Isaiah Ford, to lead the Hokies to a 28-13 home win over N.C. State.

Brewer, Virginia Tech’s regular starter at quarterback, had hoped to return from a collarbone injury he suffered in the season-opener against the Wolfpack. Instead, Brewer watched from the sidelines in street clothes for the fifth straight game while Motley and the Hokies (3-3, 1-1 ACC) ended a two-game losing streak.

The loss drops N.C. State (4-2) to 0-2 in the ACC for the third straight year under coach Dave Doeren. The Wolfpack is just 3-15 in ACC play in Doeren’s tenure.

The Wolfpack had hoped for a better conference start this season, after tearing through the nonconference schedule, but its defense couldn’t stop the Virginia Tech passing game in the decisive second quarter.

Motley, and the Virginia Tech offense, struggled last week in a 17-13 home loss to Pittsburgh. The 100 yards of total offense was the fewest since coach Frank Beamer’s first game in 1987.

While Pitt held Motley to 93 passing yards, and sacked him seven times and intercepted three passes, the Wolfpack couldn’t rattle the redshirt junior.

Motley had 124 passing yards and three touchdowns in the first half and was sacked only once and didn’t turn the ball over.

Unlike last week’s 20-13 home loss to Louisville, N.C. State started quickly. The Wolfpack built a 10-0 lead after dominating both sides of the ball for the first 16 minutes of the game.

N.C. State rolled 145 yards of offense in the first quarter, to only 29 for Virginia Tech.

N.C. State had its running game going and Jacoby Brissett was effective throwing the ball early. Brissett’s 8-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jumichael Ramos put the Wolfpack up 10-0 at 13:56 in the second quarter.

Then the bottom fell out. Motley found a rhythm and Ford, who finished with four catches for 39 yards.

Motley caught N.C. State in a corner blitz on the first touchdown pass to Ford. Cornerback Juston Burris came in off the right edge and Ford lost Germaine Pratt in coverage for a 27-yard touchdown at 11:41 in the second quarter.

The Hokies took a 14-10 lead on Motley’s 5-yard TD pass to Ford. The touchdown capped a drive helped by an unsportsmanlike penalty on Pratt for pushing Motley while he was out-of-bounds.

Another penalty, and N.C. State was flagged six times for 65 yards in the first half, set up Virginia Tech’s third touchdown.

On third and goal from the 11, N.C. State defensive back Dravious Wright was called for pass interference on Bucky Hodges in the end zone.

Two plays later, Motley found Ford for a 2-yard score and a 21-10 halftime lead.

N.C. State got a 36-yard field goal from freshman Kyle Bambard late in the third quarter, his second of the game, to cut Virginia Tech’s lead to 21-13. But with two chances to potentially tie the game, N.C. State’s offense was stopped near midfield and forced to punt.

Virginia Tech running back Travon McMillian put the game on ice with a 59-yard touchdown run at 6:54 in the fourth quarter.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 11:21 PM with the headline "Good start, bad finish for NC State in 28-13 loss at Virginia Tech."