RALEIGH, N.C. — It was exactly the kind of catch that had so often gone uncaught by N.C. State’s receivers this season. Darryl Jones went up for a jump ball with Wake Forest’s Gavin Holmes in the end zone, and the football disappeared for a moment between their jerseys. It was next seen in Jones’ hands, having wrestled it away from Holmes.
That was Jones’ second touchdown of the night, and the first came as he extended his route to get open as M.J. Morris bought time in the pocket. And then there was Keyon Lesane, shaking off a forearm shiver to hold on at the goal line for another touchdown.
These are exactly the kind of tough catches and big plays N.C. State’s receivers not named Thayer Thomas weren’t making early on, fatally so against Clemson, as N.C. State’s season took a turn for the worse. Now that they are, a world of opportunity has reopened for the Wolfpack, starting with Saturday’s 30-21 win over the Demon Deacons.
The quality of the defense was never in doubt, nor has it been more sharply honed than it was Saturday. Morris has adapted as well as could be asked since taking over for the injured Devin Leary, and continues to improve. The receivers were the missing link, the unanswered call at the other end of the line.
Wake Forest is supposed to be the team with the receivers who can go up and make plays — it’s as much a staple of the Dave Clawson talent production line as anything — but on Saturday the gloves were on the other hands.
Sometimes, it just takes time and experience as players adjust to new roles and new responsibilities. Reps matter.
It’s a shame for the Wolfpack that Leary isn’t healthy to enjoy their progress, but it has come just in time for Morris, and crucially so with Morris thrown to the wolves as a true freshman, the first to start for N.C. State since Philip Rivers. There’s no margin for error with Morris throwing the ball, but N.C. State gave him more leeway Saturday, calling a deep shot on the second play of the game and opening up the playbook a little bit.
That’s a two-way street; the conservative bent of the Wolfpack offense was dictated by the limited capabilities of those receivers, even with Leary at quarterback. They’re now starting to show they can make taking bigger risks worthwhile, as has Morris as he grows into the role. There are fringe benefits to that: The Wolfpack bought two big pass interference calls on otherwise unpromising throws.
If that’s an unexpected, if welcome, development for the Wolfpack, there was nothing surprising about the way N.C. State’s defense played Saturday. This was, and still is, the strength of the team, and while the front six harassed Sam Hartman and snuffed out the Demon Deacons’ running game entirely, the secondary came up with a trio of picks — Hartman’s seventh, eighth and ninth in the past two games.
And Isaiah Moore, at one point, had a one-man goal-line stand. The N.C. State linebacker stacked up Justice Ellison twice and sacked Hartman on third down to push the Deacons from the 1-yard line all the way to the 17, where Matthew Dennis pushed his field-goal attempt wide right to open the second quarter, only his second miss of the season.
And for once, the Wolfpack didn’t need a double-digit second-half comeback to do it. N.C. State and Wake Forest traded touchdowns in a wild, back-and-forth second quarter that left the Wolfpack leading 17-14 at the half, then pulled away in the third quarter with Morris’ second touchdown pass to Jones and a 51-yard Christoper Dunn field goal that squeaked over the crossbar.
Wake Forest applied some late pressure, capping a 99-yard drive with a 29-yard heave from Hartman to A.T. Perry on fourth down, but State bled the clock before Dunn restored the two-score lead with a short field goal. Wake Forest was out of timeouts and almost out of time.
Put it all together, and not only did N.C. State extend its home winning streak to 16 games, tying the school record, but the Wolfpack remained very much alive to win 10 games for the second time in school history, no asterisk required.
There’s nothing that can undo the losses at Clemson or Syracuse, even as vulnerable as both teams have appeared since. But there’s still so much to play for, and Saturday offered more reason to believe the Wolfpack — with a fearless freshman at quarterback, a rapidly improving receiving corps and that stout defense — can make something out of a season that appeared all but lost.
