Football Takes Down NC State, 30-14

Oct. 11, 2014

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Raleigh, N.C. - The Boston College football team defeated NC State, 30-14, on Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium. Graduate quarterback Tyler Murphy rushed for 132 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the Eagles (4-2, 1-1 ACC) to their first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season.

The Wolfpack (4-3, 0-3 ACC) dropped its third straight after winning the first four games of the season.

BC rushed for over 300 yards for the fourth time in 2014, racking up 310 yards, and put up over 400 total yards of offense for the fifth time, amassing 411 on the night. The offensive line also kept the quarterback clean as Murphy was not sacked.

While the game started quickly with the Eagles scoring on their first three opening drives and State scoring on its first two, it did not turn out to be high-scoring set it started out as. The BC defense held strong, allowing just 43 rushing yards - the fourth time this season it has held a team to under a 100 yards - and 217 yards overall. NC State did not score after the first quarter, turned it over twice and quarterback Jacoby Brissett was sacked four times.

Murphy currently leads the Eagles with eight rushing touchdowns. He has tallied at least one in every game this season and notched two for the second time. He has three games of over 100 yards rushing in 2014. He was 12-for-19 through the air with 101 yards and no interceptions.

Brissett was 14-for-30 on the night, tallying 174 passing yards and one interception.

The Eagles began the game with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that lasted just under four minutes. Freshman Jon Hilliman capped it off with a 10-yard run for his seventh TD of the season with just over 11 minutes to play in the first quarter. During the drive, junior Dan Crimmins recorded a 23-yard reception, the longest of his career.

The Wolfpack answered right back with a 65-yard, 13-play drive that lasted just over four minutes. Tony Creecy ran it in from two yards out to even the score.

Murphy scored the next time down the field to put BC back by seven. With 3:43 to play in the quarter, he found a hole toward the outside, got a block by graduate wide receiver Josh Bordner and accelerated down the sideline for a 47-yard score.

It took the Pack less than two minutes to answer and retie the game. Brissett hit David Grinnage on a 16-yard pass with 1:45 left in the quarter to even it at 14.Matt Dayes returned senior kicker Alex Howell's kickoff 50 yards to the BC 45-yard line to start the drive. On third-and-six at the BC 41, the NC State QB completed a 22-yard pass to Bo Hines for the first down.

The Eagles notched their third rushing touchdown of the half - the third time this season they have completed the feat - to retake the lead. On a nine-play, 75-yard drive, BC ran the ball seven times and Murphy hit freshman Sherman Alston for a 14-yard pass for the longest of the young wide receiver's career before Alston ran 24 yards into the end zone for his second TD of the season.

Howell missed a 52-yard field goal at the end of the half.

The second half started with rain and a huge play by senior defensive lineman Brian Mihalik. After receiving the kick, on second-and-16, Mihalik intercepted Brissett's pass and returned it 21 yards to NC State's 10-yard line. It marked the first career interception for the D-lineman. The teams then were forced to evacuate the field due to lightning in the area.

After a 57-minutes rain delay, the Eagles started with first-and-goal but on second down, Murphy lost 10 yards on a rush attempt. Sophomore Myles Willis broke a few tackles to move the ball back to the 10-yard line on a seven-yard rush and freshman Mike Knoll hit his first career field-goal attempt - a 28-yarder - to put the Eagles up, 24-14, with just under 12 minutes to go in the third quarter.

The BC defense contained the Pack, forcing a punt. While the Eagles could not tally a score, they ran the ball nine times on a 13-play drive that lasted 6:30. On fourth-and-four at State's 26-yard line, Murphy completed a one-yard pass to junior David Dudeck, turning the ball over on downs. The defense forced another State punt and Alston returned it for a career-long 58 yards.

Murphy scored his second TD of the game with five minutes to go in the game. In another drive laden with rushes, the BC QB took it 26 yards to put the Eagles up, 30-14. The extra point failed after a botched snap.

As the Wolfpack attempted to come back, senior Josh Keyes recorded his team-leading fourth sack of the season, forcing Brissett to fumble. Junior Steven Daniels picked up the ball for his second career fumble recovery. Keyes led the defense with a career-high 10 tackles.

The Eagles return to action at home on Oct. 18 for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with Clemson. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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Tyler Murphy