N.C. State holds off Louisiana Tech for 34-27 victory
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A week after one of the biggest football wins in school history, No. 23 N.C. State had to fight hard Saturday to keep from being upset at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Wolfpack built a 34-20 lead over Louisiana Tech midway through the fourth quarter, then had to make a clutch defensive stop in the final seconds to preserve a 34-27 victory in its final nonconference game of the season.
The Pack’s Jakeen Harris intercepted Austin Kendall’s pass in the end zone on the final play of the game. The Pack improved to 4-1 this season.
Pack quarterback Devin Leary passed for 251 yards and two scores, and Ricky Person and Zonovan Knight combined for 175 yards rushing, each scoring touchdowns.
Kendall was 26-of-43 passing for 341 yards and three scores and also rushed for 71 yards.
Below are the highlights from the night.
Hebert TD: N.C. State 34, La. Tech 27
The Bulldogs will push the Pack to the end. Griffin Hebert took a pass from Austin Kendall and smashed his way into the end zone for a 14-yard score with 4:43 left in the fourth.
Kendall hit Bub Means for 28 yards in the 75-yard, 9-play drive, and picked up a first down with a good fake and keep on third-and-1 at the NCSU 15. Kendall found Hebert open over the middle for the TD.
Knight TD: N.C. State 34, La. Tech 20
The Pack responded to a Bulldogs score with one of its own, twice converting third-down plays and Bam Knight scoring from 4 yards with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Devin Leary hit Trent Pennix for 10 yards on a third-and-3 play at the NCSU 35, then Porter Rooks for 10 on third-and-9 at the La. Tech 14. Knight had a 25-yard run in the 72-yard drive and Thayer Thomas forced a pass-interference call against La. Tech.
Means TD: N.C. State 27, La. Tech 20
Spurred by a big defensive stop, the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game as Bub Means scored on a 23-yard throw from quarterback Austin Kendall.
The Pack, leading 27-13, had fourth-and-2 at the La. Tech 33 but Ricky Person was held to 1 yard. The Bulldogs quickly moved 67 yards for the TD as Kendall hit Tre Harris for 31 yards to the NCSU 27 and then lofted the pass to Means on the left side.
C.J. Riley TD: N.C. State 27, La. Tech 13
The Pack used some hard-charging runs by Bam Knight and a big catch by Devin Carter to set up the touchdown.. On first-and-goal at the 5, Devin Leary connected with Riley for the score -- Riley’s first TD of the season -- and a 14-point lead.
Knight had runs of 13, 15 and 10 yards for the Pack, which had just 37 rushing yards in the first half. Leary, rolling to his right, hit Carter for 23 yards to the La. Tech 5.
The Pack would rush for 88 yards in the third quarter. The Pack’s defense forced three three-and-outs in the quarter.
Jacob Barnes 38 FG: N.C. State 20, La. Tech 13
Trailing by 10 points, the Bulldogs moved to the NCSU 25 before Barnes’ second field goal of the game with 6:17 left in the third quarter.
A big play for the Bulldogs was Griffin Hebert’s 31-yard catch on the left sideline. The Pack’s Tyler Baker-Williams got a hand on the ball on the pass but Hebert grabbed the tip for the catch.
Ricky Person TD: N.C. State 20, La. Tech 10
Ricky Person started breaking tackles and didn’t stop until he had crossed the goal line on a 24-yard scoring run with 10:44 left in the third quarter.
After a 25-yard punt return by Thayer Thomas to the La. Tech 40, the Pack scored in two plays. Devin Leary hit Devin Carter over the middle for 16 yards and Person took it from there, busting of the right side and barreling through defenders.
Halftime: N.C. State 13, La. Tech 10
Christopher Dunn’s 29-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half pushed the Pack back ahead.
Devin Leary had completions of 24 yards to Emeka Emezie and 17 to Thayer Thomas to get the Pack to the 12 with six seconds left in the half. The decision was to turn to Dunn for his second field goal of the half rather than try and squeeze in another play.
La. Tech finished the half with 201 yards in total offense and the Pack had 181, leaving coach Dave Doeren in a foul mood during his quick radio interview on the way to the locker room.
Bulldogs quarterback Austin Kendall, held out of the North Texas game last week with an injury, started Saturday and was 13-of-22 passing for 139 yards in the half. Leary was 11-of-18 for 144 yards but the Pack managed just 37 yards rushing against a team allowing 147 a game.
One highlight for the Pack: Trenton Gill averaged 53.8 yards on four punts.
Jacob Barnes 21 FG: La. Tech 10, N.C. State 10
A 20-yard run by Marcus Williams Jr., then a 34-yard catch and run by Jacob Adams gave the Bulldogs first-and-goal at the NCSU 7 before the Wolfpack defense forced a field goal. Linebacker Drake Thomas twice had tackles after the Bulldogs pushed inside the 10, stopping quarterback Austin Kendall on third-and-goal.
The Bulldogs had 193 yards in total offense for the game after the field goal while limiting the Pack to 121 yards.
Christopher Dunn 36 FG: N.C. State 10, La. Tech 7
The Pack’s Christopher Dunn, who missed a chance to beat Clemson with a walk-off field goal last week, was true on his first attempt, a 36-yarder.
Wideout Devin Carter made a leaping grab along the right sideline of a 26-yard Devin Leary pass to push the ball to the La. Tech 23. But the Bulldogs dropped quarterback Devin Leary for a 3-yard loss on third-and-3 at the 16 to force the field goal.
Pack’s White with the pick
The Pack’s defense, burned for a second-quarter TD, came up with a turnover the next time La. Tech got the ball.
Wolfpack freshman Aydan White made a tumbling interception of an Austin Kendall pass at the NCSU 48. Not that NCSU took advantage of the pick -- quarterback Devin Leary was sacked on third down and the Pack had to punt.
It was the Pack’s sixth interception of the season.
Jacob Means TD: La. Tech 7, N.C. State 7
The Bulldogs, stymied on their first two possessions of the game, breezed down the field to tie the score 7-7 early in the second quarter.
On third-and-goal at the 2, quarterback Austin Kendall found tight end Jacob Adams alone in the left corner of the end zone for the score.
Kendall teamed up with Bub Means, a redshirt freshman, for a 9-yard completion on third-and-5 at the NCSU 16. Kendall hit Means for 21 yards to crank up the 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
Chris Toudle TD: NC State 7, La. Tech 0
The Wolfpack looked sluggish on its first possession but not on the second.
Taking the ball at its 9-yard line, the Pack used some hard running from Ricky Person and a 34-yard pass from Devin Leary to Emeka Emezie to push inside the La Tech 10. On second and goal, Leary found wideout Christopher Toudle open near the right pylon for the score.
Person absorbed a big hit along the sideline from defensive back BeeJay Williamson during the drive but returned during the possession.
Add it up: 91 yards, plays, 5:30 off the clock.
The Bulldogs, on their first possession, became the first team this season to convert a first-quarter third down against NCSU. Their second possession was a three-and-out.
Secret’s over: Kendall plays
All eyes were on Louisiana Tech when the Bulldogs first took the field Saturday for their pregame warmups.
Quarterback Austin Kendall initially did not come out for warmups. That raised eyebrows. Then, a little later, he did and started the game.
Kendall’s playing status was a tightly held secret at Louisiana Tech during game week. The Waxhaw native was held out of last week’s game against North Texas and Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz remained mum about his availability for Saturday.
Kendall has thrown for 837 yards, with seven TD passes and three picks, in three games while completing 61.8 percent of this throws. He also has a past victory over the Pack, leading West Virginia past N.C. State 44-27 in September 2019, throwing for three TDs.
Kendall, listed at 6-2 and 215 pounds, started his college career at Oklahoma, transferred to West Virginia and then to Louisiana Tech. The son of a former Georgia quarterback, he’s now 23 and a graduate student.
Sophomore Aaron Allen is Kendall’s backup.
Did you know?
Among Kendall’s 9,500 followers on Twitter (@A_Kendall11) is Pack coach Dave Doeren. The Wolfpack did recruit Kendall out of Cuthbertson High in Waxhaw.
Skip Holtz played at Carter-Finley
Wolfpack fans with long memories remember Skip Holtz when he wasn’t coaching.
When Lou Holtz first started roaming the Pack sideline as the Pack’s head coach in the early 1970s, his son Skip was 8 years old. Skip would often be seen playing and rolling down the old grassy bank on the south end of Carter-Finley Stadium (then Carter Stadium) in the four seasons his father was at NCSU.
Skip Holtz, 57, later played football at Holy Cross College, and was a football walk-on at Notre Dame, then coached by his father. His first coaching gig was as a graduate assistant in 1987-88 at Florida State, where he worked for the late Bobby Bowden.
Skip Holtz’s son, Trey, now works for his dad as a receivers coach at Louisiana Tech.
This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 5:56 PM.
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