NC State's 35-17 victory over Wake Forest breaks losing streak

Mike Rose knew all about N.C. State’s history at Wake Forest.

Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren made sure to remind his players about the six-game losing streak since 2001 and the eight losses in nine trips in Winston-Salem going back almost 20 years.

With a fast start on Saturday, and another big game from running back Matt Dayes, N.C. State finally left BB&T Field with a win, 35-17, over the Demon Deacons.

“It’s good to change history,” said Rose, a senior defensive end who had three sacks.

Rose said the history lessons from Doeren, going back to the summer, paid off. So did some extra time to prepare and re-focus.

N.C. State (5-2, 1-2 ACC) made a couple of tweaks on offense to break a more pressing streak, the 0-2 start to conference play this season.

After a 28-13 loss at Virginia Tech on Oct. 9, N.C. State had an open date on its schedule. Doeren said he kept the players off the practice field for seven days to help refresh them and evaluate some of the problems.

The biggest change Doeren made on Saturday was to go up-tempo in the first quarter. N.C. State scrapped its huddle and got after Wake Forest’s defense, which showed a propensity to give up big plays in a 50-14 loss to North Carolina.

The Wolfpack went into hyper-speed, scoring three plays and 53 seconds into the game, a 59-yard pass from quarterback Jacoby Brissett to redshirt freshman receiver Maurice Trowell.

N.C. State’s first three drives lasted 53, 13 and 11 seconds. The fourth score, which gave the Wolfpack an insurmountable 28-0 lead, lasted a lifetime by comparison at 1 minute and 28 seconds.

The Wolfpack has changed tempos before, notably early last season, but it hasn’t been a part of the plan this season.

“In retrospect, we should have had it ready for Game 5 and 6,” Doeren said in reference to the first two ACC games of the season. “We have to be able to change tempo in the game. We can’t just break the huddle and let them get their cleats set all the time.”

Dayes barely let the Wake defense breathe. He had an 85-yard touchdown to put the Wolfpack up 14-0 and a 57-yard TD run to make it 28-0.

He finished with a career-best 205 yards, the most by any N.C. State running back since 2005.

N.C. State also used more of a speed element on offense, to create some running room for Dayes. Trowell, one of the fastest players on the team, came into the game with just two catches on the season. He had two for 68 yards on the opening drive.

Doeren said Trowell, who has been slowed by a wrist injury, has stood out in practice the past two weeks.

“He earned those balls,” Doeren said. “He’s always gone in and blocked. He’s always been unselfish and never pouted.

“I told him this week, ‘Dude, you’re going to have a game, I can feel it.’ And he did.”

Trowell finished with four catches for 87 yards and his first career touchdown. Hines, a highly-touted freshman from Garner, also gave the Wolfpack offense a burst of energy. Hines caught three passes for 68 yards and scored his first career touchdown on a 58-yard connection with Brissett.

N.C. State had faced press coverage on the outside in the first two ACC games but couldn’t exploit it in losses to Louisville and Virginia Tech. Brissett, who threw for 227 yards, said the Wolfpack was able to pick up some weakness in Wake’s coverage by watching some of the UNC game.

“Carolina had a great plan for them and exposed some of their coverages,” Brissett said. “We just came out and knew that we had to play our game and open up and make those big plays.”

N.C. State got its big plays, all five touchdowns covered more than 50 yards, for its first win in Winston-Salem since 2001 and first ACC win of the season.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "NC State's 35-17 victory over Wake Forest breaks losing streak."