Wolfpack's Effort Overshadowed by Volunteers' Offensive Onslaught
In a decisive encounter at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, the Tennessee Volunteers delivered a commanding 51-10 victory over the North Carolina State Wolfpack. This win propelled the Volunteers to an impressive undefeated early-season record of 2-0, while the Wolfpack stumbled to a balanced 1-1. The match attracted a substantial crowd of 72,730 spectators, who bore witness to Tennessee's dominant display against their opponents.
The Wolfpack encountered significant difficulties throughout the game. On offense, quarterback Grayson McCall managed to complete an admirable 68 percent of his passes, amassing a total of 104 yards through the air. However, his efforts did not translate into touchdowns and were marred by an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Tennessee. The ground game fared no better, with North Carolina State's running backs finding little room to maneuver against Tennessee's defense, totaling a mere 39 yards from 28 carries. Hollywood Smothers emerged as the leading rusher for his team with six carries for 25 yards. The only touchdown for North Carolina State came from an exceptional defensive play by Aydan White who intercepted a pass and returned it for an impressive 87-yard touchdown.
The special teams unit showed flashes of excellence despite the overall challenging game for North Carolina State. Punter Caden Noonkester averaged just over 46 yards on six punts with one landing inside the twenty-yard line while kicker Kanoah Vinesett was perfect on the day converting both his field goal attempt from 24 yards and extra point after White’s defensive score.
On defense, Sean Brown made notable contributions with five tackles and one tackle for loss among his eleven total tackles during the game. Bishop Fitzgerald also made key plays including two tackles and an interception return that covered twenty-nine yards.
However, penalties proved costly as North Carolina State racked up six infractions resulting in fifty-two penalty yards lost which compounded their challenges on both sides of the ball along with turnovers that they could not afford against Tennessee’s efficient offense.
Looking forward to their next challenge, North Carolina State is set to welcome Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Wayne Day Family Field at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on September 14th at noon EDT. Fans looking forward to rallying behind their team can tune into this matchup live on ACC Network available via satellite channel number twelve (612).