RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State quarterback Mike Glennon threw three first-half touchdown passes Saturday night, and the Wolfpack beat South Alabama 31-7. The Jaguars avoided a shutout with a fourth-quarter touchdown and fell to 1-2.
Wolfpack Strike Early
Glennon completed 8 of 9 passes on NC State’s opening possession and accounted for all but five yards of the 80-yard drive, which ended with a 33-yard touchdown pass with 9:22 left in the first quarter. He added a 44-yard touchdown pass with four minutes left in the opening period, and his third scoring throw gave NC State a 28-0 lead before halftime. Glennon finished 24-of-34 for 257 yards.
South Alabama’s first drive showed promise as C.J. Bennett picked up first downs with completions to Wes Saxton and Corey Besteda, but a third-and-15 pass near midfield was intercepted. On NC State’s next possession, an Alex Page sack left the Wolfpack facing third-and-15, but a personal foul penalty gave them a first down.
Fourth-Quarter Score
Besteda’s 43-yard catch set up South Alabama’s only touchdown, an 8-yard pass from Ross Metheny to Jereme Jones in the fourth quarter. The catch extended Jones’ streak of games with a reception and tied the school record held by Courtney Smith.
Metheny, who took over after Bennett’s early struggles, completed 14 of 20 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Bennett was 10-of-15 for 74 yards with an interception. Each quarterback was sacked three times.
Statistical Leaders
- Demetre Baker led South Alabama with 45 rushing yards on seven carries and five receptions for 55 yards.
- Kendall Houston ran four times for 17 yards.
- Saxton caught four passes for 72 yards, and Besteda had three for 68.
- T.J. Glover had three catches for 10 yards. Three other Jaguars caught two passes each, and three more had one catch apiece.
- Jake Johnson led all players with a season-high 14 tackles.
- Page had five tackles and two sacks for 14 yards. Clifton Crews and Anthony Taylor each added a sack.
NC State held a 22-14 advantage in first downs and outgained South Alabama 384-314. The Wolfpack ran for 127 yards to the Jaguars’ 51, while South Alabama had a 263-257 edge in passing yards.
Jones: ‘We Won the Second Half’
South Alabama coach Joey Jones credited NC State’s defense.
“We knew when N.C. State held Connecticut to seven points last weekend that they were a very good defensive football team,” Jones said. “When you look at their film from last year and this year, they are two totally different teams. They showed that today. They were very good up front, and got to the quarterback several times. We could have done some things better, but they are very good defensive football team.”
“I thought we fought hard defensively, and the positive thing was that I thought we won the second half,” Jones said. “I challenged them at halftime to win the second half, and we came out and did that. We didn’t quit. Our kids fought hard. There are obviously some things we can work on, but a lot of it had to do with the fact that they were pretty good on defense.”
Up Next
South Alabama continues a two-game road trip next Saturday at Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
