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NC State holds on to beat UCF in St. Petersburg Bowl

Dec 27, 2014 - 6:34 AM St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Dayes rushed for two touchdowns in the third quarter as North Carolina State capped off a remarkable turnaround season with a 34-27 win over UCF in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Jacoby Brissett completed 15-of-26 passes for 262 yards with one touchdown for the Wolfpack (8-5), who had gone 3-9 in coach Dave Doeren's first season in 2013.

"They played their butts off," said Doeren of his team. "The rest of the coaches did a great job and the players made it all possible. I'm really proud of all our players."

Dayes totaled 78 yards on 13 carries while his backfield mate, Shadrach Thornton, rushed 17 times for 96 yards and added a touchdown pass.

UCF's Justin Holman threw three touchdown passes to Josh Reese, the last coming with 1:44 left in the game, but the Knights (9-4), with no timeouts remaining, were unable to secure the onside kick.

"Give credit to NC State, they made some plays and we didn't make enough plays," said UCF head coach George O'Leary. "We just let the game get out of whack a little bit."

Holman was 23-of-53 for 291 yards with one interception, and Breshad Perriman had 138 yards on nine receptions.

Niklas Sade nailed a 45-yard field goal to give NC State a 34-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, but missed a 47-yard try wide right with 2:56 left to play, keeping UCF's hopes of a comeback alive.

Holman threw a 19-yard pass to Perriman on 4th-and-14 from the NC State 43- yard line before hooking up with Reese for a 2-yard score. Reese hauled in a 14-yard touchdown earlier in the fourth.

Shawn Moffitt kicked a 40-yard field goal for UCF to cap the game's opening possession, then NC State responded on its first drive to take a 7-3 lead.

Thornton threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jaylen Samuels, who made the catch in tight coverage near the right sideline. Thornton managed to deliver the throw with a defender bearing down on him.

The Knights, who captured their second straight American Athletic Conference title, reclaimed the lead when Holman hit Reese on a 6-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. But a blown coverage by the UCF defense led to a 37-yard touchdown grab by Johnathan Alston that put NC State back ahead shortly after.

After a Knights punt, Brissett completed a 33-yard pass to Bo Hines on 3rd- and-22 from the Wolfpack 12 and then found Hines on a 45-yard strike. The long completion set up a 1st-and-goal at the 4, but NC State was held to a 19- yard Sade field goal.

The Wolfpack were in position for another field goal attempt just before halftime, but the clock ran out when Brissett was sacked with no timeouts remaining.

Brissett shook off the mistake by orchestrating a nine-play, 75-yard drive to begin the third. Dayes reached the end zone on consecutive runs of 11 and 24 yards after Alston caught a 12-yard pass on 3rd-and-7.

Dayes later scored on a 15-yard run after Moffitt made a 36-yarder. The field goal was set up by a Brissett fumble.

Game Notes

The Wolfpack improved to 15-12-1 in bowl games, while the Knights' bowl record fell to 3-4 ... Brissett added 31 yards on the ground and caught a 20-yard pass from Hines ... NC State outgained UCF 487-373.