NC State outscored Louisiana Tech 24-3 in the second half to overcome a 17-6 halftime deficit and beat the Bulldogs to improve to 2-1. Those are the particulars; the in-between requires a bit of explanation.
The first half was real bad; in particular the last few minutes of the second quarter were a disaster, and NC State had no answer for them. Those few minutes were inarguably the worst of the season by this team, and an embarrassing loss appeared around the corner.
But the defense picked up a touchdown off an easy pressure early in the third quarter, and State managed to wrong-foot Louisiana Tech from there. It wasn’t easy, but it was CJ Bailey who helped restore confidence in the operation, and lead the Pack to victory.
Grayson McCall went out of this game late in the second quarter with a head injury, forcing Bailey into action. This … did not end well in the first half, but he found his sea legs and rolled Louisiana Tech from there. NC State owned the second half of this game.
Davin Vann’s pressure led to a pick-six that cut the margin to 17-13 a minute into the second half. From there was the most important drive of the season—holding LT to a field goal after a first-and-goal inside the five.
The defense was much better in the second half, and the offense responded. This could have been a disaster, but everybody responded.
State’s big second half continued, as State pushed back ahead, 23-20. Are we supposed to apologize when other teams punt? I don’t think so. Louisiana Tech quit here.