BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State's defense held tight throughout Thursday night's season-opener against South Carolina, but the Wolfpack offense never caught up.
Backed up in its own territory much of the night, the defense allowed just seven points on six South Carolina trips into NC State territory. But the Gamecocks' only touchdown, which came early in the first quarter, was enough to suffice for a 7-3 victory at sold-out Carter-Finley Stadium.
All of USC's other attempts to put points on the board were thwarted, twice with missed field goal attempts, once with an interception and once with a couple of big defensive plays.
But the Wolfpack offense never really unfurled. NC State gained just 41 yards in total offense in the first half, and could not get a big play when it needed it in the second half. For the game, the Pack managed just 133 yards of total offense, 11 first downs and a lone field goal by junior Josh Czajkowski.
"We weren't able to get anything consistently going on offense," Wolfpack head coach Tom O'Brien said. "We had one sustained drive all night that ended with nothing out of it."
NC State lost veteran offensive lineman Jake Vermiglio in the first half and needed to shift a few guys around up front to address the loss. Julian Williams moved over to tackle and redshirt freshman Andrew Burgess came in at guard.
That exposed a lack of depth on the line of scrimmage, O'Brien said, that affect the offense's ability to move the ball.
"We are not where we have to be up front," said the coach. "We will assess those positions here in the next week and try to get better."
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was also thrilled with his team's defensive performance.
"I told our coaches that we might have the top team in the nation in total defense the way we played tonight," he said. "We only allowed 133 yards - that's unbelievable. Our offensive team was okay, but our defense had a super night."
It didn't hurt that punter Spencer Lanning had a particularly good night, averaging 41.7 yards on six punts. That included a 55-yarder and three inside the Wolfpack 20-yard-line.
"We were backed up all night," O'Brien said. "We have to be able to make some first downs or we have to stop them. We couldn't get enough first downs to sustain any drives, especially in the first half.
"We got some things going a little bit better in the second half, but not enough to win."
True freshman Rashard Smith gave the Wolfpack an opportunity late in the game with a 31-yard punt return to midfield. But after a pair of incompletions and a sack of quarterback Russell Wilson, the Wolfpack called timeout to set up a fourth-down play.
Wilson's pass to receiver Jarvis Williams in the end zone was batted out of Williams' hands by a South Carolina defender, giving the ball to the Gamecock offense on its own 33.
After two running plays up the middle, USC quarterback Stephen Garcia hit wide receiver Moe Brown on a 33-yard sideline pass to the NC State 28 for a first, effectively sealing the game.
The Wolfpack offense put its first points on the board with 55.8 seconds remaining in the third quarter when Czajkowski kicked a career-long 43-yard field goal. The drive was set up by junior defensive end Michael Lemon's interception of a Garcia pass.
The Wolfpack paid dearly for one of its two mistakes in the first quarter. On State's first play from scrimmage, senior running Toney Baker fumbled the ball away at his team's 14-yard line. Four players later, the Gamecocks scored on a one-yard plunge by junior tailback Brian Maddox to take a 7-0 lead.
Later, South Carolina's Devin Taylor blocked a Jeff Ruiz punt, giving the Gamecocks the ball on the 38-yard line. On the next play, Garcia hit freshman receiver Tori Gurley in the end zone, but Gurley was called for a 15-yard offensive pass interference penalty on freshman cornerback C.J. Wilson.
Garcia was sacked by Rashard Smith and USC was forced to punt the ball away, ending the threat.
Before halftime, the Gamecocks advanced to the Wolfpack 9, thanks in part to a personal foul penalty that gave USC a first-and-goal. But a Shea McKeen sack backed the Gamecocks to the 14, and a bad snap on Lanning's field goal attempt with four minutes to play gave the Wolfpack the ball on the 19.
The Pack offense had only one big play in the first half, a long pass from Wilson over the middle to Owen Spencer, but it was negated by an ineligible receiver down the field penalty.
In the third quarter, the Gamecocks again drove deep into Wolfpack territory, but Lanning missed a 27-yard field goal attempt with 6:21 to play.
With six sacks of Wilson, the early fumble and four costly penalties, the Wolfpack wasn't nearly as sharp as Wilson expected.
"It's the first game, you kind of expect some things to get you off schedule a little bit," Wilson said. "At the same time, we have to get rid of those things. We have to move on and get better."
O'Brien agreed.
"I think the whole football team has to get better," he said. "We still have a chance to be a good football team."
The Wolfpack returns to Carter-Finley next Saturday to play Murray State on Military Appreciation Day. Kickoff for the non-televised game is slated for 6 p.m.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
Courtesy: Ben McKeown/NC State
