Final
NC State rallies to beat Pitt, 38-31
Sep 26, 2009 - 11:14 PM By JOEDY McCREARY AP Sports WriterRALEIGH, N.C.(AP) -- Toney Baker scored from 2 yards out with 6:28 left and North Carolina State's defense made a late stand to preserve a 38-31 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday.
In a wild game in which the teams combined for 830 total yards, Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes for the third straight week and finished 21 of 35 for 322 yards for the Wolfpack (3-1).
Wilson also rushed 10 times for 91 yards and led three straight second-half touchdown drives for N.C. State. The last was kept alive by two pass-interference calls on third downs against Pitt. Baker raced untouched through the left side two plays later to give N.C. State its first - and only - lead.
Bill Stull was 12 of 23 for 206 yards with two touchdown passes while Dion Lewis had two early scoring runs for the Panthers (3-1).
They had one last chance to force overtime after a shotgun snap sailed over Wilson's head and was recovered by Pitt's Max Gruder at the N.C. State 8 with 2:45 remaining.
But safety Brandan Bishop knocked a sure touchdown catch out of Dorin Dickerson's hands one play before Stull's fourth-down pass sailed out of the end zone with 1:15 left.
Pitt's best start since 2000 was spoiled by an N.C. State team that held Lewis, the Big East's leading rusher, to just 16 yards in the second half. Lewis finished with 95 yards and scored on runs of 6 and 7 yards in the first half.
For a while, it seemed the Panthers would claim their eighth road victory in nine tries dating to their upset of then-No. 2 West Virginia in 2007 - especially after Stull hit Jonathan Baldwin with a 79-yard touchdown pass to make it 31-17.
That's when Wilson took over. He started the comeback with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Williams, then tied it at 31-all with a pretty 7-yard flip to George Bryan.
Earlier, he had scoring passes of 23 yards to Taylor Gentry and 38 yards to Baker, extended his NCAA-record streak of pass attempts without an interception to 364 and proved that the Wolfpack's offense can pile up the points against college football's big boys, too.
N.C. State entered with the highest-scoring offense in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but that average of nearly 38 points seemed misleading because all but three of its 113 total points came in consecutive routs of Football Championship Subdivision teams Murray State and Gardner-Webb. South Carolina, the only other FBS team the Wolfpack played, kept them out of the end zone in the opener.
Instead, N.C. State became the second team this season to rack up 500 total yards against Pitt. The Panthers' defense was considered one of their strengths and was one reason they were the preseason pick to win the Big East.
TD NC STATE TONEY BAKER 2 YD RUN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 38 4th - 6:28Sep 26 6:30 PM
TD NC STATE TONEY BAKER 2 YD RUN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 38 4th - 6:28Sep 26 6:30 PM
TD NC STATE GEORGE BRYAN 7 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 31 4th - 12:26Sep 26 6:10 PM
TD NC STATE GEORGE BRYAN 7 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 31 4th - 12:26Sep 26 6:10 PM
TD NC STATE GEORGE BRYAN 7 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 31 4th - 12:26Sep 26 6:10 PM
TD NC STATE JARVIS WILLIAMS 33 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 24 3rd - 2:44Sep 26 5:56 PM
TD NC STATE JARVIS WILLIAMS 33 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 24 3rd - 2:44Sep 26 5:56 PM
TD NC STATE JARVIS WILLIAMS 33 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 24 3rd - 2:44Sep 26 5:56 PM- NCAAF FINAL
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
PITTSBURGH 10 7 14 0 31
NCSTATE 7 3 14 14 38 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: PITTSBURGH - TD, DION LEWIS 6 YD RUN (DAN
HUTCHINS KICK), 1:58.
PITTSBURGH 7-0
PITTSBURGH - FG, DAN HUTCHINS 35 YD, 5:52.
PITTSBURGH 10-0
NC STATE - TD, TAYLOR GENTRY 23 YD PASS FROM
RUSS
Sep 26 5:51 PM - NCAAF
PITTSBURGH 31
NCSTATE 38 0:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Sep 26 5:51 PM
TD PITTSBURGH JONATHAN BALDWIN 79 YD PASS FROM BILL STULL (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 17 3rd - 4:15Sep 26 5:49 PM
TD PITTSBURGH JONATHAN BALDWIN 79 YD PASS FROM BILL STULL (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 17 3rd - 4:15Sep 26 5:49 PM
TD PITTSBURGH JONATHAN BALDWIN 79 YD PASS FROM BILL STULL (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 17 3rd - 4:15Sep 26 5:49 PM
TD PITTSBURGH CAMERON SADDLER 13 YD PASS FROM BILL STULL (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 24, NC State 17 3rd - 10:03Sep 26 5:31 PM
TD PITTSBURGH CAMERON SADDLER 13 YD PASS FROM BILL STULL (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 24, NC State 17 3rd - 10:03Sep 26 5:31 PM
TD PITTSBURGH CAMERON SADDLER 13 YD PASS FROM BILL STULL (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 24, NC State 17 3rd - 10:03Sep 26 5:31 PM
TD NC STATE TONEY BAKER 39 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 17, NC State 17 3rd - 12:36Sep 26 5:22 PM
TD NC STATE TONEY BAKER 39 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 17, NC State 17 3rd - 12:36Sep 26 5:22 PM
TD NC STATE TONEY BAKER 39 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 17, NC State 17 3rd - 12:36Sep 26 5:22 PM- NCAAF
PITTSBURGH 31
NCSTATE 31 12:26 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Pittsburgh 31, NC State 31 4th - 12:26Sep 26 5:10 PM - NCAAF
PITTSBURGH 31
NCSTATE 24 0:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Sep 26 5:02 PM - NCAAF
PITTSBURGH 24
NCSTATE 17 10:03 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Pittsburgh 24, NC State 17 3rd - 10:03Sep 26 4:31 PM
TD PITTSBURGH DION LEWIS 7 YD RUN (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 17, NC State 7 2nd - 12:11Sep 26 4:23 PM
TD PITTSBURGH DION LEWIS 7 YD RUN (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 17, NC State 7 2nd - 12:11Sep 26 4:23 PM- NCAAF
PITTSBURGH 17
NCSTATE 17 12:36 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Pittsburgh 17, NC State 17 3rd - 12:36Sep 26 4:22 PM
TD NC STATE TAYLOR GENTRY 23 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 10, NC State 7 1st - 2:39Sep 26 4:07 PM
TD NC STATE TAYLOR GENTRY 23 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 10, NC State 7 1st - 2:39Sep 26 4:07 PM
TD NC STATE TAYLOR GENTRY 23 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Pittsburgh 10, NC State 7 1st - 2:39Sep 26 4:07 PM
TD PITTSBURGH DION LEWIS 6 YD RUN (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 7, NC State 0 1st - 13:02Sep 26 3:40 PM
TD PITTSBURGH DION LEWIS 6 YD RUN (DAN HUTCHINS KICK)
Pittsburgh 7, NC State 0 1st - 13:02Sep 26 3:40 PM- NCAAF
PITTSBURGH 10
NCSTATE 7 0:00 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Sep 26 3:15 PM
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