Wolfpack survives trip to Charlottesville, 24-21, as late mistakes doom Cavaliers

By Joseph Ochoa, WRAL multiplatform producer

NC State Wolfpack	24
Virginia Cavaliers	21
Final

Charlottesville, Va. — The NC State Wolfpack capitalized on late mistakes by the Virginia Cavaliers and escaped Charlottesville with a 24-21 win Friday night.

As the Cavaliers (0-4, 0-1) were driving late in the game, Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea hit Malik Washington for a touchdown with 36 seconds left. After the touchdown, an offensive lineman was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Cavs converted the two-point conversion from the 19-yard-line, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, this time on Colandrea, forced the Cavaliers to kick off from the 20-yard-line.

After NC State (3-1, 1-0) drove into field goal range and called time out with 6 seconds remaining, Virginia blocked the kick from Brayden Varveson, but were penalized for leaping over the center. NC State moved forward 15-yards and Narveson hit the second kick as time expired to give the Wolfpack its first conference win.

NC State head coach Dave Doeren said he was proud of how Narveson carried himself on the two attempts.

"[I'm] very proud of Brayden to make the second kick," Doeren said. "To be able to step up again in the rain, psyche-wise, and make the second one was huge."

Keys to the game

Virginia mistakes in the fourth quarter

Before the final drives of the game, The Wolfpack defense honed in on mistakes by the Cavaliers.

Early in the fourth quarter, a pass from Colandrea was tipped by NC State's Bishop Fitzgerald and intercepted by a diving Sean Brown midway through in the fourth quarter.

The pass was corralled by NC State's Sean Brown at NC State's 26-yard-line, giving the Wolfpack the ball back midway through the fourth quarter.

On the Cavaliers next offensive drive, Colandrea lead the Cavs down the field and was nearly in the redzone.

After scrambling for time, Colandrea threw another interception, this time to 2022 All-ACC cornerback Aydan White, who was downed at the NC State 10-yard-line with 5:39 remaining in the game.

The late mistakes have been an issue for Colandrea this season. In the fourth quarter this season, he has thrown one touchdown and five interceptions.

Can't contain Concepcion

Kevin "KC" Concepcion showed up for Brennan Armstrong in his first ACC game.

Early in the second quarter, Armstrong hit Concepcion in the back corner of the end zone from 12 yards out, putting NC State on the board 7-0 with 14:53 left in the second quarter.

The catch was Concepcion's first-career touchdown reception.

"It was amazing catching that first touchdown," Concepcion said. "Best believe that ball is going to my mom."

Then late in the third quarter, after the Cavaliers brought the game within a point, Armstrong hit Concepcion over the middle around Virginia's 28-yard-line.

Concepcion got loose and left every defender in the dust.

Armstrong said moments like Friday are what Concepcion lives for.

"KC isn't affected by the lights," Armstrong said. "He just goes out and plays at a high level. He made three huge plays for us tonight. This will continue to improve his confidence."

Armstrong, offense struggle to find consistency

Outside of Concepcion, Armstrong and the rest of the offensive unit struggled to find a rhythm most of the game.

Armstrong finished the game as the team's leading rusher with 64 yards, much of which were on scrambles late on the final drive of the game. Armstrong threw one interception right to a defender late in the second quarter as the team was looking to score.

Armstrong, who was playing against the Cavaliers after being their quarterback from 2020 to 2022, completed just 50% of his 30 passing attempts.

The offense in the second half struggled. In the second half against the Cavaliers, the Wolfpack only had two drives late went for more than 30 yards: The touchdown pass to Concepcion and the final drive to set up the field goal. The average drive for the Wolfpack in the game wasn't long either, lasting an average of five plays.

"There's always questions and concerns," Doeren said. "People complain about play-calling. I'm happy to get out of here with a win."

Doeren attributed the struggles to the team's inability to establish a consistent running game.

"We haven't established a consistent run game," Doeren said. "We need to be able to narrow down the playbook instead of trying too much."

Armstrong, who said it was "hard to accept a win when the offense doesn't do its job," said a win is a win at the end.

Washington proves difficult for Wolfpack to defend

One bright side for the Cavaliers Friday night was wide receiver Malik Washington.

Washington finished the game with 10 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns. This is the third-straight week Washington set a career high in receiving yards for the Cavaliers.

One of Washington's two touchdowns was the touchdown that brought the Cavaliers within two points.

Earlier in the quarter, Colandrea hit Washington short on a screen pass and Washington took it 62 yards down the field to the NC State 4-yard-line.

Scoring Summary

2nd Quarter

N.C. State: 12-yard touchdown pass from Armstrong to Concepcion. Drive: 7 plays, 49 yards, time of possession: 2:43. Time remaining: 14:55 2nd quarter. 7-0 NC State.

Virginia: 8-yard touchdown pass from Colandrea to Washington. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, time of possession: 3:09, Time remaining: 11:46 2nd quarter. 7-7 all.

N.C. State: 1-yard touchdown run by Mimms. Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, time of possession: 2:36, Time remaining: 0:28 2nd quarter. 14-7 NC State.

3rd Quarter

Virginia: Bettridge 21-yard field goal. Drive summary: 5 plays, 60 yards, time of possession: 1:59. Time remaining: 6:48 3rd quarter. 14-10 NC State.

Virginia: Bettridge 36-yard field goal. Drive summary: 5 plays, 38 yards, time of possession: 2:13. Time remaining: 2:24 3rd quarter. 14-13 NC State.

N.C. State: 48-yard touchdown pass from Armstrong to Concepcion. Drive summary: 5 plays, 74 yards, time of possession: 2:13. Time remaining: 0:11 3rd quarter. 21-13 NC State.

4th Quarter

Virginia: Washington 3-yard touchdown pass from Colandrea, two-point conversion successful. Drive summary: 11 plays, 66 yards, time of possession: 2:53. Time remaining: :36 4th Quarter. 21-21 all.

N.C. State: Narveson 33-yard field goal. Drive summary: 5 plays, 33 yards, time of possession: :36. Time remaining: :00 4th Quarter. NC State wins 24-21.

What's ahead

The Wolfpack has another Friday night matchup ahead, but will get the luxury to host the Louisville Cardinals at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Cavaliers, who haven't started a season 0-4 since the 1981 season, travel to Chestnut Hill on Satuday, September 30, for a matchup against the Boston College Eagles.

Preview

NC State football kicks off ACC play this week against Virginia, and much of the attention will be on transfer quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s performance against his former school.

Armstrong played for Virginia from 2018-2022 before transferring to NC State for the 2023 season.

“It’s just a game once that whistle blows,” Doeren said. “Now, when he gets in that stadium for the first time, I’m sure he’s going to have some feelings.

“He loved that place. He has great friends and memories there, but he’s playing for our team and he knows that, and he’s going in there to win a football game, and to make it about us.”

The NC State and Virginia game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday at Scott Stadium. The game airs on ESPN.

“I think you can get into these types of games and you guys are asking all the questions that don’t matter,” Doeren told reporters. “It doesn’t matter that he used to go to school there.

“It doesn’t matter that we have coaches that used to coach there or they have coaches that used to go coach here. What matters is: Can we execute? Can we win the ball-security battle? Can we strain harder than them? Can we finish plays better than them? That’s what matters, and we want to go win a football game, so we’re going to focus on the things that matter.”

First-year NC State offensive coordinator Robert Anae coached at Virginia from 2016-2021.

In 2021 at Virginia, Armstrong threw for 4,449 yards, 31 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and completed 65.2% of his passes while playing under Anae.

When Anae went to Syracuse for the 2022 season, Armstrong’s stats dipped. Last season, he threw for 2,210 yards, seven touchdowns, 12 interceptions and completed 54.7% of his passes.

Through three games, Armstrong has completed 66 of 105 passes for 679 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also had 37 carries for 161 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Offensive line coach Garett Tujague also returns to Virginia, where he held the same position from 2016-2022.

Virginia offensive coordinator Des Kitchings was the running backs coach from 2012-2018 at NC State.

NC State (2-1) is coming off a 45-7 win on Saturday against Virginia Military Institute [VMI].

“[We] documented how uncomplimentary we played in the Notre Dame game,” Doeren said. “And, in this game, I don’t think we could have played more complementary football.”

On the second drive of the game against VMI, Lyndon Cooper came in at center to replace Dylan McMahon.

“He was our player of the game on offense,” Doeren said of Cooper.

McMahon is “day to day,” Doeren said. Doeren didn’t get into specifics of McMahon’s injury, but said it wouldn’t require surgery and that he’s a “quick healer.”

Junior cornerback Aydan White sat out against VMI, but Doeren said the team expects him to play against Virginia.

Virginia (0-3) is coming off a 42-14 road loss against Maryland.

Friday will mark the first time Doeren coaches against Tony Elliott, who started his tenure in 2022 at Virginia.