RALEIGH - In the old days at East Carolina, when Jeff Jagodzinski was an assistant and Steve Logan the head coach, they sometimes used the phrase "fence wire and duct tape" to describe the sort of offensive attack Boston College used Saturday to put away N.C. State on Saturday.

"One week, fence wire. Next week, duct tape -- whatever it takes to keep us floating," was how Logan put it.

These days, Logan is the offensive coordinator and Jagodzinski the head coach for the Eagles. Their roles have changed. Their here-today, somewhere-else-tomorrow strategies haven't.

A week after Logan's offense attempted only nine passes in a 42-0 win over Rhode Island, he turned Eagles quarterback Chris Crane into a nonstop pitching machine against the Wolfpack defense in Carter-Finley Stadium.

A first-year starter as a senior, Crane threw 51 times, completed 34 and piled up 428 yards in leading the Eagles to a 38-31 win that sent them to 4-1 overall and evened their ACC record at 1-1. Not only that, he ran enough to lead the team in rushing -- 11 carries for 42 yards and three touchdowns.

Last season, in a 37-17 BC win over the Wolfpack in Boston, Matt Ryan went 15-for-34 for 142 yards. These days, Ryan is starting for the Atlanta Falcons.

"We challenged Chris more this week that we ever have," Logan said. "Basically, we told him that he was coming off the [computer] chip, and it would be up to him to show us what kind of quarterback we've always thought he was, or go back home and fight for his starting job. I think he responded about as well anyone could have hoped for. He didn't make a single big mistake. I'm so proud of him."

With the game on the line late in the fourth quarter, Crane delivered big play after big play against a Wolfpack defense that seemingly had finally found some confidence.

Behind quarterback Russell Wilson, receiver Owen Spencer and tight end George Bryan, State (2-4, 0-2 ACC) did its best to send a homecoming day crowd home happy.

Down 21-7 at one stage and 31-17 at another, State pulled even at 31-31 with 3:33 to go. Then, Crane found reserve tight end Lars Anderson on a deep seam pattern for 36 yards and wideout Justin Jarvis on a deep out for 25 more. Crane did the rest himself, executing read-options for runs of 9 and 13 yards for the winning TD.

"Chris showed the maturity to assume ownership of the offense and to a certain extent, the game itself. That's one of the main marks of a quality quarterback, but it has taken him a while to get this point," Logan said. "... We've got a lot of tough games just ahead, and he's still basically inexperienced. But this game today should do wonders for his confidence."

For each word of praise Logan sounded about Crane, there were just as many for Wilson, who did not throw an interception, completed 19 of 33 passes for 218 yards and rushed effectively at times.

"I absolutely love that kid. Who wouldn't?" Logan said. "... It's just my penny's worth, but I think they've found a heck of a quarterback at State, and the future's bright. Tom [O'Brien] can coach, and Dana Bible can coach offense. They're going to be fine with that youngster leading them."

But the loss left State in a tight corner with half of its schedule over. To become bowl eligible in the second half, the Pack will need to find four wins against an all-ACC lineup that includes Florida State, Wake Forest and North Carolina.

A 4-2 finish isn't out of the question, and the extra time off before having to play Florida State on Oct. 16 will help a battered team mend.

But there's no question the Pack desperately needed Saturday. For a few minutes, it was there for the taking. The Pack simply ran into too much fence wire on an afternoon when its defense may have been anticipating duct tape.

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