In a game mostly bereft of picturesque moments, the scene of Cavalier faithful spilling out of Scott Stadium with several minutes remaining might as well have been a masterpiece.
Despite the two teams combining for 17 punts, five turnovers and a completion percentage of 43 percent, N.C. State (4-3, 1-2 ACC) broke away from Virginia (4-3, 1-2 ACC) for a pivotal 28-14 victory which gave the Pack its first conference win on the season. In coach Tom O’Brien’s tenure, State is now 6-1 when playing Coastal Division opponents on the road.
Holding the Hoos to just 249 yards of total offense, a far cry from the over 400 yards of offense Virginia blitzed Georgia Tech with last week, State rebounded from an early 7-0 deficit and did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the afternoon. The Pack, using its fourth defensive line combination in six games, held the Cavs’ formidable rushing attack to just eight yards on seven carries in the third quarter.
The two major story lines during Saturday’s victory in Charlottesvile were both results of game-changing performances. The first – freshman wide receiver Bryan Underwood stepping up with two touchdowns catches and 125 yards – keyed the offense with explosive playmaking ability. Underwood was unexpectedly asked to fill a bigger role in the game after starter Tobais Palmer suffered a head injury during pregame warm-ups. Leading the team in receiving, T.J. Graham was benched for the first half after being involved in the incident.
“Tobais [Palmer] is out there messing around and runs into Jay Smith and has a head injury,” O’Brien said. “You can’t make this stuff; you just can’t. T.J. was disciplined, but Bryan Underwood certainly stepped up with three catches, two touchdowns and 125 yards.”
Leading 14-7 in the third quarter, Mike Glennon connected with Underwood on a third-and-10 for a 79-yard touchdown strike. Fighting to stay in bounds, Underwood acrobatically avoided a tackle and raced down the sideline for the longest touchdown catch by a freshman in school history.
“It was just a great individual effort on his part to stay in,” O’Brien said. “He’s about an inch in bounds and goes right in front of me and then he’s a little faster than people give him credit for. When he gets running, he can take off.”
The Ohio native came into Saturday’s contest with five receptions in five games, but took full advantage of an abnormal opening by posting 41.7 yards per catch. Underwood’s first touchdown of the day and of his collegiate career, a 33-yard hook up right in front of the State marching band, came immediately after a David Amerson interception.
“Our offense is pretty good right now,” Underwood said. “Mike is a great quarterback and of course the bye week gives us a chance to practice plays hard all week and to execute them well. If we mind our ‘p’s and ‘q’s we’re going to score.”
The only other individual performance which would compete with Underwood’s breakout day was Amerson’s – the sophomore field corner also cemented his place into State’s record book with his seventh and eight interceptions of the season. The last Wolfpack player to accomplish the feat was Art Rooney back in 1937 and again in 1938.
“David [Amerson] just comes into the game with complete confidence,” Underwood said. “It’s something we would like to see in all our players, but Dave is a man of his own. Our whole defense just stepped up one play after another.”
And as Amerson sealed the game by picking off Hoos’ quarterback David Watford, his leap over defenders into the end zone put that confidence on full display.
“As soon as I caught it, I said ‘I’m going to dive in here,'” Amerson said. “I knew it was going to be pretty tough to get in there, but it worked.”
With early defensive struggles plaguing the Pack in 2011, the Greensboro native has been one of the few bright spots on defense. State, ranked No. 10 in the ACC in terms of scoring defense, hopes the nation’s leader in interceptions continues to make plays.
“We came up big in the second half and made plays when we had to,” Amerson said. “Not just me, but everybody. It was a good team effort and we definitely needed to win. It’s our first ACC win and we are starting off the second half of the season, so it was a big win.”
The Wolfpack, now at 4-3, will need to win three out of its final five games to reach a postseason bowl. Before hosting North Carolina (5-3, 1-3 ACC), State will travel to Tallahassee next weekend to face Florida State (4-3, 2-2 ACC). Also awaiting the Pack in the home stretch will be a road test at lowly Boston College (1-6, 0-4 ACC) and home games against No. 6 Clemson (8-0, 5-0 ACC) as well as Maryland (2-5, 1-3 ACC).
If Doak Campbell Stadium looks as empty and dejected as the Pack made Scott Stadium look in the dying moments of the fourth quarter, it would be a vital upset.
“Well (when the stands are empty) it means that we’re doing a good job,” Amerson said. “That’s a good feeling because the fans are talking and cheering and we just want to shut them up so they’re quiet the whole game.
“That’s how we know we’re doing our job.”
