Defense impresses as No. 16 NC State football beats Texas Tech 27-14 to improve to 3-0
Many expected a shootout Saturday night between N.C. State and Texas Tech, with the Pack’s Devin Leary slinging passes and the Red Raiders’ “Air Raid” attack making things entertaining.
The two defenses didn’t let it happen.
The No. 16 Wolfpack stayed undefeated with a 27-14 win on a night when quarterback Devin Leary was average, when yards were hard to come by and anything gained offensively was hard-earned.
The Red Raiders (2-1) edged Houston, then ranked 25th, a week ago in double overtime and were after a second straight win over a ranked nonconference team. But the Wolfpack, a 10-point favorite, made enough key plays to punch out a victory over the Big 12 Conference team at Carter-Finley Stadium.
“That was a good team win,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “That’s a good (Texas Tech) offense and I think to do what we did ... the kids did a good job and different guys stepped up. It’s good to get that win. I know that was a a big game.”
Running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye scored twice, the second on a well-thrown 38-yard pass from slot back Thayer Thomas. Sumo-Karngbaye nearly had a third score but had the ball stripped just before the end zone in the third quarter after grabbing a pass from Leary.
But the longest play of the game came from the Wolfpack defense when sophomore cornerback Aydan White picked off a Donovan Smith pass in the first half and cruised 84 yards for a pick-6 score that had Carter-Finley rumbling.
White also had a second interception with a minute left in the game, and the Pack had three picks in the game. Texas Tech had four turnovers, fumbling a punt early in the game.
The Red Raiders had a big defensive play of their own in the second half. Leary found Sumo-Karngbaye open down the right side and Sumo-Karnbaye was headed to the end zone, only to have the ball stripped a yard from the goal line and the ball bounce through the end zone — a touchback for Texas Tech.
Texas Tech scored late in the first half as Smith connected with Myles Price for a 24-yard TD pass and then in the fourth quarter on Smith’s 3-yard run.
“We played a really good football team tonight and I’m disappointed we didn’t play better,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said after the game. “We didn’t play well enough to win and that’s on me. We’ve got to do a better job with the football.”
Leary finished 15-for-23 passing for 121 yards. Smith was 21 of 36 for 214 yards as neither quarterback felt comfortable in the pocket.
Sumo-Karngbaye made up for his gaffe in the fourth quarter. After the Red Raiders failed on a fourth-down play at the Tech 38 early in the period — a curious decision by McGuire — the Pack used the pass from Thomas to take a 20-point lead.
Thomas lined up wide to the left, took a few steps back to take a Leary lateral behind the line and found Sumo-Karngbaye open down the right side for the 38-yard score.
Sumo-Karngbaye had a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter for a 13-0 lead after field goals of 29 and 47 from the Pack’s Christopher Dunn.
Thomas had another TD pass, only to have it wiped out by a penalty against the Pack.
With the Wolfpack leading 3-0 and with first-and-goal from the Tech 3, Sumo-Karngbaye took a direct snap out of the shotgun. Sumo-Karngbaye ran left and pitched to Thomas in motion back to the right, and Thomas hit an open Leary in the right side of the end zone.
But the Pack was penalized for a lineman down field and Dunn was needed for his second field goal.
After a strong defensive possession led by linebacker Isaiah Moore, the Pack took advantage of favorable field position at the Tech 43 to score the first touchdown of the game.
Leary completed a third-down pass to Thomas, and the Red Raiders were called for roughing the passer on the play. On first down from the 14, Sumo-Karngbaye circled left end for the score with 10:13 left in the second period.
This story was originally published September 17, 2022 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Defense impresses as No. 16 NC State football beats Texas Tech 27-14 to improve to 3-0."
