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Evans leads NC State to upset of No. 17 Florida State

Oct 6, 2006 - 4:00 AM RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Daniel Evans knows he can depend on John Dunlap when the game is on the line.

In just his second career start, Evans threw for three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to Dunlap, as North Carolina State rallied for a 24-20 victory over 17th-ranked Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

Andre Brown rushed for 119 yards on 18 carries for the Wolfpack (3-2, 2-0 ACC Atlantic), who defeated the Seminoles (3-2, 1-2 Atlantic) for the second straight season.

Under pressure earlier this season, NC State coach Chuck Amato improved to 4-3 in his career against mentor Bobby Bowden.

On September 23, Evans found Dunlap in the back of the end zone with just eight seconds remaining in a thrilling 17-15 win over then-No. 20 Boston College. On Thursday, the two hooked up a little earlier.

After Evans cut the Wolfpack's deficit to 20-17 early in the third quarter with a 10-yard TD pass to Geron James, he found a leaping Dunlap in the zone for a 12-yard score with 10:36 remaining to cap an eight-play, 58-yard drive.

"That corner down there," Amato said. "We're gonna call it 'Dunlap's Corner.'"

"It's a pretty neat experience, but it's not just me, it's not just a single person on the team," said Evans, who threw for 190 yards without a turnover. "It's everybody pulling together. That's what did it. We could have collapsed, we could have thrown in the towel after Southern Miss, but here we are."

North Carolina State fell to Southern Mississippi a week before stunning Boston College.

DaJuan Morgan intercepted Drew Weatherford with 2:07 left to seal the win for the Wolfpack. The turnover was caused by Garland Heath's deflection.

Weatherford completed 16-of-29 attempts for 249 yards and two touchdowns for Florida State.

NC State took a 7-3 lead 3:03 into the second quarter when Evans found Donald Bowens for a 16-yard score. The Wolfpack then made Florida State settle for a field goal with 9:27 remaining before the half due to pass deflection by linebacker Patrick Lowery, preventing a wide-open Brandon Warren from hauling in the catch.

However, the Seminoles went ahead, 13-7, with 3:12 to go before halftime when Chris Davis held on to a 33-yard toss from Weatherford.

The Wolfpack faced a 13-10 hole at the break.

Amato's decision to go for it on 4th-and-goal on the FSU 1 backfired when Toney Baker was stuffed at the goal line. Weatherford capped the ensuing 14-play, 99-yard march with a 12-yard strike to Warren for a 10-point cushion with 3:02 left in the quarter.