North Carolina State 21, East Carolina 20
By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
GREENVILLE, N.C. - No. 13 North Carolina State topped East Carolina 21-20 after the Pirates missed an extra point with 2:58 left and a 41-yard field goal with 5 seconds to go.
The Pirates (0-1) were in position to hand the Wolfpack a surprising loss when they got the ball back late down 21-20, not to mention offer Owen Daffer a shot at redemption after he pulled the tying PAT wide left after Rahjai Harris' short touchdown run.
Holton Ahlers' keeper set Daffer up with a makeable field goal in the final seconds, but he missed this one wide right to stun a once-rowdy crowd and leave many fans putting their hands on their heads in disbelief.
The Wolfpack (1-0) celebrated the miss, with Shyheim Battle emphatically waving that the kick was no good while coach Dave Doeren pumped his right fist.
Still, the moment appeared to be more about relief than jubilation for a team that had a long list of troubles in its latest bumpy trip to Greenville.
This time, at least, it all came in a win.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
NCSU | ECU |
| ECU |
TD |
10:03 |
C.J. Johnson 39 yard TD pass from Holton Ahlers (Owen Daffer Extra Point) |
0 |
7 |
| NCSU |
TD |
2:40 |
Thayer Thomas 12 yard TD pass from Devin Leary (Christopher Dunn Extra Point) |
7 |
7 |
| NCSU |
TD |
1:34 |
Sean Brown 0 yard blocked punt return for TD (Christopher Dunn Extra Point) |
14 |
7 |
| Second Quarter |
NCSU | ECU |
| NCSU |
TD |
1:09 |
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 24 yard TD run (Christopher Dunn Extra Point) |
21 |
7 |
| Third Quarter |
NCSU | ECU |
| ECU |
TD |
5:17 |
Shane Calhoun 1 yard TD pass from Holton Ahlers (Owen Daffer Extra Point) |
21 |
14 |
| Fourth Quarter |
NCSU | ECU |
| ECU |
TD |
2:58 |
Rahjai Harris 3 yard TD run (Owen Daffer Kick Failed) |
21 |
20 |
| Team Stats |
| |
North Carolina State |
East Carolina |
| First downs |
18 |
18 |
| Rushing |
7 |
4 |
| Passing |
11 |
12 |
| Penalty |
0 |
2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
4-13, 31% |
9-17, 53% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-2, 50% |
0-1, 0% |
| Rushes-Yards |
32-133 |
27-118 |
| Passing Yards |
211 |
265 |
| Return Yards |
76 |
125 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
17-33-1 |
25-41-2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| Punts |
6 |
6 |
| Fumbles Lost |
2-1 |
1-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
8-73 |
2-20 |
| North Carolina State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| D. Leary |
17 |
33 |
211 |
1 |
1 |
| East Carolina Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| H. Ahlers |
25 |
41 |
265 |
2 |
2 |
| East Carolina Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| J. Wilson |
1 |
34 |
| North Carolina State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| S. McDonough |
6 |
265 |
44.2 |
| East Carolina Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| L. Larsen |
5 |
212 |
42.4 |
| North Carolina State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| T. Thomas |
1 |
18 |
18.0 |
| East Carolina Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| M. Fleming |
4 |
29 |
7.3 |
| North Carolina State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Gray |
2 |
31 |
15.5 |
| North Carolina State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| East Carolina Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| O. Daffer |
41 |
