North Carolina was very close on Friday to handing rivals NC State their first home loss of the season. With 2:12 left in the fourth inning, Tar Heels thought they had the game in the bag after taking a nine-point lead from Grayson Atkins’ 50-yard goal.
That is until Bang NC gets the ball back. Defender Devin Leary hit a touchdown pass from 64 yards to Emeka Emezie two turns later. The defenders of UNC left open Emezie’s ability to play. The drive took just 37 seconds, so NC State took the lead of two with 1:35 left.
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Wolfpack number 20 then recovered a kick from the front to regain the ball. Three UNC penalties in 35 yards on the next track set NC State up for another score. 26 seconds into the game after Emezie’s 64 yards TD reception, he scored again, this time on Leary’s 24-yard pass. That gives NC State a 34-30 lead with the remaining score at 1:09.
UNC tried for a comeback of its own, driving to NC State 30 with five seconds left, but a Hail Mary throw into quarterback Sam Howell’s end area was blocked when time expired.
All it took was an insurance clearance for Emeka Emezie TD at 64 yards, an inevitable inside kick recovery, some UNC penalties, and Emezie Mossing is here to NC State. back from 9th in about a minute of the match pic.twitter.com/xKnsduKusl
– Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) November 27, 2021
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According to the ACC Network, the Wolfpack’s return is the first of its kind in college football this season:
NC State had a hard time taking the lead. The score was 14-0 after the first half and 14-10 after halftime. It then fumbled in the opening move of the second half, and UNC scored through consecutive possession in the third round to take a 24-14 lead. The Heels led to 22:56 of the second half until Emezie scored a second TD. UNC winning probability is all in the last minutes of the game.
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With the win, NC State (9-3, 6-2 ACC) continues to maintain its chance of reaching the conference championship game on December 4. It needs Boston College to beat Wake Forest on Saturday, which This would make NC State the Atlantic Division. champion. Wolfpack’s win also knocked Clemson out of the Atlantic race.
