Late Stop Leads NC State to Victory Over ECU

RALEIGH, NC – career high 121 receiving yards and a touchdown helped push the Pack to a 24-17 victory on opening night from Carter-Finley Stadium. 

With ECU trailing by a touchdown and a fourth and one with 42 seconds left in the game, the Wolfpack defense sealed the win as redshirt junior shut down the receiver behind the line of scrimmage to give the ball back to the offense to kneel the game out. 

This marks the eighth straight opening win for the Wolfpack, with the lone loss in season openers under Dave Doreen coming in 2017 to South Carolina. 

The Wolfpack returners led the way on offense with quarterback throwing for 318 yards with a score on the ground and in the air to go along with team-leading 106 total yards from scrimmage. Grimes’ career best came on just four catches as he surpassed his previous high of 76 yards as a member of the Demon Deacons two seasons ago.

True freshman  was the newcomer to make the biggest impact, finishing with 93 receiving yards on five catches, highlighted by a 50-yard catch in the fourth quarter. He becomes the 10th freshman under  to have at least 90 receiving yards in his first game. 

Linebacker  led the defense, finishing with a game-leading 11 tackles with two tackles for loss and a sack. Fellow linebacker finished with 10. 

ECU finished the game averaging one yard per rush. This is the lowest number since November 11, 2023, against Wake Forest.

The Wolfpack struck first with a 29-yard field goal try from Nick Konieczynski. The redshirt freshman opened up his collegiate account, going 1-3 from the field and 3-3 on extra points on the night.

The NC State defense held the Pirates to four straight three-and-outs to start the game, powering a 17-7 halftime lead.

Smothers extended the lead early in the second half, punching the ball in from the two-yard line to cap off a 10-play 80-yard drive. 

The Wolfpack’s win moves the all-time series to 20-14  and 17-7 at home. NC State will next face off against Virginia at home on Saturday, September 6th, at noon