NC State Beats Notre Dame 10-3 in a Kiddie Pool

NC State defeated Notre Dame 10-3 on a day that Carter-Finley turned 50, and was also turned into a pool. At times watching the game was almost comical. Between both teams, there were 10 fumbles (NC State – 6 & Notre Dame – 4) with 4 of them resulting in turnovers (NC State – 2 & Notre Dame – 2). The field decorated with the diamond NC State logo was turned into a slip-and-slide. Literally.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE pic.twitter.com/XxrpVVam6Q

— ESPNU (@ESPNU) October 8, 2016

It wasn’t a glorious day for statistics for Ryan Finley and his receivers, but they can’t be faulted for that. Finley was 5-12 for 27 yards. Give the Wolfpack offensive line some credit. They didn’t give up a single sack in this nonsense.

The NC State defense was resilient. They held the Irish to 113 yards of total offense, picked up 5 sacks and 8 tackles for loss, and took the ball away 3 times. Defensive end Bradley Chubb had 3 sacks (3.5 TFL). Captain cornerback Jack Tocho was excellent today, picking up two pass breakups, with one of them likely stopping a touchdown.

NC State’s special teams hasn’t won them any games this year, but that changed today when Pharoah McKever blocked a punt and defensive back Dexter Wright picked it up and ran it in for 6, and ultimately won the game.

A wet & wild #Wolfpack WIN ????????

Punt block & TD for @PackFootball here: #NDvsNCSU pic.twitter.com/ZjC7dlExqL

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) October 8, 2016

That’s why Dave Doeren gave the two of them the game ball.

Game balls to @FolowThE_LEADER @dexwright14 @JayMac2_ pic.twitter.com/gQhEp5GqdO

— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 8, 2016

In this mess, it was obviously the ground game that produced a majority of NC State’s 198 yards total offense. Matt Dayes picked up his 4th 100-yard game this season, running 23 times for 126 yards. Jalan McClendon deserves a lot of credit for coming in and moving the chain with his legs, not his arms. McClendon rushed 10 times for 56 yards.

The Wolfpack fans packed Carter-Finley stadium despite the inclement weather, and even were so loud at points that the Irish were penalized for a delay of game. This was a must-win game for the Wolfpack, and win they did, and it won’t be a victory that NC State fans will soon forget.