North Carolina State turned four Northern Illinois University turnovers, including two fumbles inside the two-yard line, into 14 points to claim a 24-17 win over the Huskies at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Turnovers were the difference in a defensive battle that featured 13 punts – eight by NC State. For the second straight game, NIU held an opponent to less than 200 yards as the Wolfpack were held to a season low 171 yards, 63 on the ground, and were 1-of-11 on third down.
“It’s hard to win games when you don’t win the turnover battle,” said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. “Even with the turnover battle being what it was, we still had a chance at the end. I think it’s a credit to rou program that our guys expect to win those type of matchups and were disappointed that we not get the result we wanted.”
Trailing 24-17, NIU got the ball at its 10-yard line with 2:31 to play and drove to the NC State 34 with nine seconds to play but three incompletions ended the game with the final pass intercepted in the end zone.
Running back Antario Brown gained 114 yards on 28 carries to record his first 100-yard rushing game of the season while quarterback Ethan Hampton was 14-of-29 for 159 yards but was sacked four times.
“I told Antario this is the type of game this was going to be,” Hammock said. “That’s a good game by him. I’m more proud of his game that he played today because when you’re not breaking 60-yard runs, you have to stay in the fight and he stayed in the fight.”
Trailing 17-14 at halftime after scoring late in the half, NC State extended its lead to 24-14 when Hampton was sacked by NCSU’s Davin Vann and fumbled at the NIU two-yard line, where Brandon Cleveland recovered. On third and goal from the three, Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey’s pass to Kevin Concepcion was complete in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 11:46 on the clock.
Two more punts followed before the Huskies started a drive from their 19 with 5:47 to play in the third quarter and marched to the NC State 33 where Kanon Woodill’s career-long 50-yard field goal was good, pulling NIU within a touchdown at 24-17.
The Huskie defense forced NC State to punt on each of its next three possessions, including one that came after an interception, before beginning its final drive.
Defensive end Roy Williams and linebacker Jaden Dolphin led the Huskies with six tackles each. Williams and Nate Valcarcel posted sacks and NIU tallied five tackles for loss.
N.C. State took a 7-0 lead on its first possession, driving 64 yards in eight plays and 5:02 with quarterback C.J. Bailey scoring on a one-yard rush. The Huskies took just four plays to move to the NC State 11-yard line. Brown picked up 12 yards, Hampton connected with Brock Lampe for 21 yards to the Wolfpack 42 and, after a tackle for loss, Brown broke free down the right sideline for the NC State 11-yard line. On third and two from the three, he took the direct snap, fumbled at the goal line where the ball was recovered in the end zone by Lampe for the NIU touchdown. Woodill’s PAT tied the score 7-7 with 2:23 left in the half.
A NC State 58-yard punt forced the Huskies to start at their own 12-yard line where, on third down and six from the 16, Hampton was sacked by NC State’s DK Kaufman and fumbled into the end zone, where Kaufman recovered for a Wolfpack touchdown.
After an exchange of punts, the Wolfpack put together a five-play, 36-yard drive to the NIU 21. From there, Kanoah Vinesett’s 37-yard field goal was good, giving NC State a 17-7 lead with 4:55 left in the half.
The Huskies cut the lead to three points at halftime with a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Hampton hit Cam Thompson, who caught three passes for 32 yards, for 15 yards to start the drive and runs by Brown and Lampe put NIU on its 49-yard line. Hampton then found Andrew McElroy down the right sideline for 42 yards to the NCSU six with two minutes left in the half.
Three plays later, Thompson caught his second touchdown pass of the season on a six-yard strike over the middle from Hampton. Woodill’s PAT made the score 17-14 with 57 seconds left in the half and the NIU defense forced a NC State punt before halftime.
NIU (2-2, 0-1 MAC) returns to Huskie Stadium for a non-conference match-up versus UMass on Saturday, October 5. Kickoff is at 11 am (CT) on CBS Sports Network. Tickets are available for $20 (West Side reserved) and $12.50 (East Side general admission) at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) Monday through Friday.