NC State And Ball State Look To Bounce Back In Raleigh

After going on the road for the first time this season and suffering their first loss of the season to West Virginia NC State will look to bounce back but they’re not the only team that will look to bounce back as Ball State will also look to bounce back Saturday night under the lights at Carter Finley Stadium in North Carolina’s state capital.

NC State who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference returns to North Carolina’s state capital on Saturday where they will host Ball State who is a member of the Mid American Conference.

NC State comes into the game with a record of 2-1 while Ball State comes into the game with a record of 1-2.

As stated above,

NC State suffered their first loss of the season.

WVU opened the game with back-to-back TD drives on its first two possessions to go up 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Mountaineers totaled 141 on nine plays on those first two drives. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/14/football-pack-drops-road-contest-at-west-virginia.aspx

NC State scored its first touchdown in between those two from WVU, as Thayer Thomas caught an eight-yard Matthew McKay TD pass to cap a 10 play, 75-yard drive. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/14/football-pack-drops-road-contest-at-west-virginia.aspx

The Pack scored the next two TDs to jump ahead, but WVU answered late in the second quarter to send the teams into the locker room tied 21-21. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/14/football-pack-drops-road-contest-at-west-virginia.aspx

Jordan Houston ran it in from one yard out, then Cary Angeline caught a 19-yard pass from Thomas off of a trick play. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/14/football-pack-drops-road-contest-at-west-virginia.aspx

West Virginia retook the lead with 10 points in the third quarter, a 23-yard field goal and a five-yard TD run after a blocked punt. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/14/football-pack-drops-road-contest-at-west-virginia.aspx

A pair of Christopher Dunn fields goals – 41 and 37 yards – cut the lead to 31-27 at the end of the third quarter.

The Mountaineers increased their lead to 38-27 with a touchdown three minutes into the fourth quarter, and a late touchdown made the final score 44-27.

WOLFPACK SPOTLIGHT DRIVE
7 plays, 92 yards in 3:06 – Thayer Thomas to Cary Angeline 18-yd pass. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/14/football-pack-drops-road-contest-at-west-virginia.aspx

After forcing a WVU punt in the second quarter, NC State went 92 yards in seven plays to take its first lead of the game at 21-14. The drive was capped with a bit of trickery, as WR Thayer Thomas took a backwards pass and found TE Cary Angeline open in the end zone for a 19-yard TD. On the drive, Angeline caught a pair of passes for 57 yards.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/14/football-pack-drops-road-contest-at-west-virginia.aspx

Like NC State, Ball State lost their previous game as they lost by ten to Florida Atlantic last Saturday and will look to bounce back.

Ball State created points off early turnovers Saturday, but the Cardinals had a tough task defending a high-powered Florida Atlantic passing attack in a 41-31 setback at Scheumann Stadium. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

Jordan Williams' fumble recoveries on back-to-back scrimmage plays, including one returned for a touchdown, gave the Family Weekend crowd something to cheer about early. But the Cardinals (1-2) finished with four turnovers of their own on a sometimes wild afternoon that featured nearly 1,000 combined yards and six total takeaways. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

FAU quarterback Chris Robison threw for 366 yards and connected with receiver John Mitchell for three of his four touchdown passes on the day. The Owls (1-2), coming off opening losses to top-20 teams Ohio State and UCF, scored late in the second quarter to take a 21-17 lead into the break and then pulled away in the second half. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

"Fixing the turnover margin is something we've emphasized from day one," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "We can't have the self-inflicted wounds. Guys fought. The effort was good. But overcoming four turnovers is difficult." “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

Ball State looked primed to grab the lead back on its second possession of the third quarter after a 46-yard connection from Drew Plitt to Riley Miller and two straight 13-yard runs from Caleb Huntley. But Huntley lost the ball when he was hit at the 4-yard line on the second of those carries, and FAU recovered in the endzone for a touchback. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

The Owls moved down the field in just 1:30 and scored on a Larry McCammon touchdown run. So instead of taking the lead, the Cardinals found themselves trailing 28-17. FAU led by double digits the rest of the way. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

Ball State's best shot to make it interesting came early in the fourth quarter when it was down, 34-24. After scoring on a Plitt-to-Malik Dunner connection and forcing an FAU punt, the Cardinals had the ball near midfield. But Plitt was stripped while attempting to pass, and the Owls recovered. James Charles scored for FAU seven plays later. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

Ball State added a late touchdown from Plitt to Antwan Davis, the third scoring connection for that duo in the past two games, but FAU recovered the Cardinals' onside kick attempt and ran out the clock. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

Plitt, the MAC's leading passer, threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns, while Huntley ran for 86 yards on 14 carries.
Williams scored the first BSU defensive touchdown in five seasons, picking up a fumble forced by Chris Crumb and racing 60 yards down the sideline. Bryce Cosby forced another fumble on FAU's next offensive snap, and Williams recovered it again. The Cardinals scored just one play later when Plitt found a wide open Yo'Heinz Tyler in the corner of the end zone for a 14-7 lead. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

"We've been wanting to score a defensive touchdown, that's been on our list," Williams said. I thought my teammates were happier than I was. The energy definitely went up." “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

But that was Ball State's last touchdown until the final minute of the third quarter. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

"Things can change fast during the course of a football game," Neu said. "Our guys battled, but you can't tun the ball over like that, no matter what team you are playing against, and expect to win." “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

The Cardinals will head on the road for the first time next week, traveling for a 7 p.m. Saturday kickoff at NC State on ESPNU. BSU will not play at home again for 35 days, returning Oct. 19 to host Toledo for Homecoming. “according to https://ballstatesports.com/news/2019/9/14/football-cardinals-can-t-overcome-four-turnovers-in-41-31-loss-to-florida-atlantic.aspx

Kick-off is set for 7:00pm from Carter Finley Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU.