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FOOTBALL

As 24th Ranked NC State, Western Carolina Are Kicking Off Their 2024 Seasons Thursday Night They're Opposing Each Other Again In Raleigh

NC State, Western Carolina previously opposed each other on September 7th 2019 where NC State won in shutout fashion 41-0.

, NC State scored on six straight drives and shut out Western Carolina, 41-0 in North Carolina’s state capital.

The lone points in the first quarter came on a Christopher Dunn 32-yard field, but the Pack broke the game open in the second quarter with a trio of touchdowns to go up 24-0 at the half.

After being held to 57 yards of offense (32 rushing) in the first quarter, the Pack had 207 yards of offense and 103 rushing yards in the second quarter.

NC State went on to score on six straight possessions overall and secured its first shutout since 2015.

NC State dominated in many statistical categories, including 540 yards of total offense to just 106 for the Catamounts. In fact, Western Carolina had 61 yards in the first quarter and just 45 the rest of the game.

NC State out-rushed WCU 309-8, the biggest run differential since 2014 against North Carolina (388-30).

Following NC State shutting out Western Carolina 41-0 Head Coach Dave Doeren had this to say!

"First of all, just really proud of a lot of the guys in the game. To get a shutout and to hold a team to eight yards rushing. Defensive guys did a great job. I thought we started slow on offense and then got the run game going. It was great for Bam (Knight) to get his first 100-yard game. I thought Jordan Houston gave us a good spark in the second half with his change of pace. The tight ends got involved in the passing game. We had 7 catches at tight end, so that was good to see.

We did some good things. Obviously, there are things we have got to do better. It was good to see us get a takeaway at the end of the game. I was proud of how they played for four quarters. We got a lot of guys out there; we played a ton of people, which is great for our roster. I think we came out of the game relatively healthy, which is really good. Nice hot day, and we are looking forward to the next one."

Where Western Carolina lost 41-0 to NC State where they were shutout offensively in North Carolina’s state capital.

Transitioning to its ground game in the second quarter, North Carolina State rushed for four touchdowns including two in the second stanza to break-open a 3-0 affair before riding a strong defensive effort to hand Western Carolina a 41-0 setback on a hot and muggy Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Transitioning to its ground game in the second quarter, North Carolina State rushed for four touchdowns including two in the second stanza to break-open a 3-0 affair before riding a strong defensive effort to hand Western Carolina a 41-0 setback on a hot and muggy Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Behind redshirt sophomore QB Will Jones, who was making his first collegiate start, Western Carolina (0-2) outgained the Wolfpack 61-to-57 in an otherwise evenly played opening 15 minutes in the first quarter. NC State got on the board late in the first frame a 32-yard Christopher Dunn field goal to lead 3-0 after one.

However, the Pack tallied rushing scores of six yards by Ricky Person, scoring on a fourth-consecutive rush, and a two-yard plunge by Zovonan Knight to grab a 17-0 edge before capping first half scoring with a TD pass from Matthew McKay to Cary Angeline inside the closing seconds for the 24-0 halftime advantage.

After halftime, NC State tacked on 10 third-quarter points and a touchdown early in the fourth in scoring its 32-straight victory over NCAA FCS opponents.

WCU (0-2) was held to just 45 yards of total offense and just one first down after the first quarter by the Wolfpack defense which has not surrendered a touchdown in its first two games against in-state competition in 2019. WCU had 61 total yards – 46 passing and 15 rushing – over the game's opening 15 minutes but were stymied over the final three frames.

Jones finished 15-of-27 for 98 yards, but was sacked three times. Back-up QB Bubba Williamson, who orchestrated WCU's final possession, was sacked for a 14-yard loss, losing a fumble in the process. Three Catamount receivers finished with three receptions apiece with redshirt freshman Mahari Stribling and true freshman Kasmir Absolu both recording career highs with 28 and 26 receiving yards, respectively.Defensively, redshirt senior safety JerMichael White recorded a game-high 14 tackles – one shy of matching his career high set in 2017 at North Carolina – while Trevor Childers and Devarius Cortner were credited with nine tackles apiece.

According to https://catamountsports.com/news/2019/9/7/211811071.aspx

As 24th ranked NC State, Western Carolina are kicking off their 2024 seasons Thursday they’re opposing each other again in North Carolina’s state capital.

Where?

On the gridiron!

Kickoff is set for 7:00pm from Carter Finely Stadium!

The game is going to be televised on ACC Network with Wes Durham, Tom Luginbill , Dana Boyle!