South Florida opened the game with a 16-yard rush for a 1st down by Darrian Felix. After that, it was all downhill for the Bulls, as they were hunted by the Wolfpack all night.
Following a punt from USF, Zonovan Knight commanded the ground game and Devin Leary led the air attack for NC State. Their first drive with 76-yards in nine plays with Leary capping the drive on a 33-yard TD pass to Rickey Pearson Jr.
Then the Wolfpack defense smothered the Bulls in a 1-yard drive resulting in a quick three-and-out. This would be the first of three straight three-and-out drives. NC State added a 34-yard Christopher Dunn field-goal, and an 11-yard Pearson Jr. TD carries, extending their lead 17-0 with 12:39 left in the 2nd quarter on those three punts.
Halfway through, the Wolfpack led this one 24-0, with USF only able to scrap 122 total yards of offense on eight drives. To compound on the nature of the score, 60 of those yards came on one drive, which ended with an interception from Bulls QB Terry McClain.
In the second half, things would be much of the same. The second and final pick of the night for McClain came on their second drive after the half. It was their most promising drive, getting to the NC State eight-yard line.
Leary continued to lead the onslaught the rest of the way, with the Wolfpack ending the night with a 45-0 win. Leary went 17 of 26 for 232 yards and two touchdowns, and one interception. Though, as aforementioned, the air assault wasn’t the only one having a great night.
The ground attack saw two 100+ yard backs, as NC State tallied 293 yards from out of the backfield. Knight touted 163 yards on 16 carries while Pearson Jr. added 105 on 16 of his own carries as the due combined for 3 of the backfields four rushing TD’s.
USF’s inability to get drives going, seeing success on just 3-of-16 3rd down conversions, resulted in a worn-down defense. NC State continued to punish the Bulls in all facets of the game Thursday night.
South Florida will have to regroup quickly as they head home to face 13th ranked Florida. The Wolfpack will head on the road with some confidence as they hunt down Mississippi State. Both matchups are on September 11th.
