Demond Claiborne’s third touchdown of the game came on a 3-yard run with 1:01 remaining and Wake Forest rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat host North Carolina State 34-30 in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.
Wake Forest (2-3, 1-1 ACC) converted two fourth-down plays on the 13-play, 65-yard winning drive, ending a three-game losing streak.
CJ Bailey threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns in a backup role, but NC State (3-3) remained without back-to-back victories this year.
NC State quarterback Grayson McCall left in the first quarter after a scary hit that resulted in him strapped to a board and carted off the field. He raised his hand slightly to acknowledge the crowd as he was leaving the field.
Hank Bachmeier threw for two touchdowns and 154 yards for Wake Forest. Clairborne gained 136 yards on 20 carries with two rushing touchdowns and a TD catch.
Bailey was intercepted by Branson Combs on the first play after Wake Forest went ahead in the fourth.
Wake Forst committed turnovers on its first two second-half possessions, but the Wolfpack failed to capitalize. The Demon Deacons went up 20-16 on Matthew Dennis’ 41-yard field goal in the third quarter.
NC State’s Kendrick Raphael ran 20 yards for a go-ahead touchdown later in the third. Less than two minutes into the fourth, Bailey’s 22-yard pass to Justin Joly gave the Wolfpack a two-possession lead for the first time.
McCall, in his first game after a 2 1/2-game injury absence, exited after absorbing a vicious hit as he scrambled on the Wolfpack’s first possession. Multiple Demon Deacons converged on McCall, with his helmet and the fumble popping loose. Wake Forest’s Evan Slocum made an 88-yard return on the fumble to the Wolfpack 2-yard line as NC State medical staff rushed onto the field to tend to McCall.
McCall is in his first Wolfpack season after a record-setting career with Coastal Carolina, where he experienced a history of concussions.
Wake Forest converted the game’s first turnover into Claiborne’s 3-yard touchdown catch from Bachmeier and a 10-0 lead.
NC State recovered to take the lead with two 35-yard field goals from Kanoah Vinesett and Bailey’s 9-yard pass to Keenan Jackson.
The Demon Deacons were back in front on Horatio Fields’ 23-yard touchdown grab from Bachmeier and held a 17-16 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
