Eagles edge Wolfpack

Staff photo by Ethan Hyman

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RALEIGH — Boston College quarterback Chris Crane broke hearts at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a 13-yard touchdown run with 22.8 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 38-31 win over N.C. State.

After the Wolfpack bounced back from a two-touchdown, fourth-quarter deficit to tie, Crane drove the Eagles 70 yards in seven plays for the touchdown.

Crane completed a 36-yard pass to tight end Lars Anderson to put Boston College in scoring position at the N.C. State 34-yard line. Crane then finished off the Wolfpack with keepers of 9 and 13 yards to drop N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien to 0-2 against his former team.

Crane passed for 428 yards, ran for 42 more and had three rushing touchdowns with two passing touchdowns.

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N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson sprinted to his left on a keeper, skidded over the pylon and tied the game at 31-31 with a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:33 remaining Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Wolfpack got the ball back when a fourth-and-10 Boston College gamble did not pay off. Chris Crane threw incomplete, and the Wolfpack took over at its own 37-yard line.

Russell Wilson completed his second long pass of the day to Owen Spencer, good for a 35-yard gain. On the next play, tight end George Bryan made an incredible, one-handed catch and rumbled to the 8-yard line.

Wilson was sacked for a 7-yard loss, but Boston College's Roderick Rollins was called for pass interference in the end zone against Jarvis Williams on third-and-goal from the 15.

Given new life, Wilson sped into the end zone for the tying score.

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N.C. State safety Clem Johnson once was thought to be out for the season with a broken jaw.

But in the fourth quarter against Boston College, he made a huge play to give the N.C. State offense a chance to score a tying touchdown.

Two plays after starter Justin Byers left with an injury, Johnson broke quickly to intercept a Chris Crane pass on the sideline. The Wolfpack took possession at their own 29-yard line with 10:43 remaining and Boston College nursing a 31-24 lead.

But Boston College quickly forced an N.C. State punt as Russell Wilson threw incomplete to Owen Spencer on third-and-6.

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Just when it seemed like N.C. State was out of it, Russell Wilson came up with the longest pass completion of his career.

Wilson appeared like he was inclined to scramble on the first play from scrimmage after Steve Aponavicius' 17-yard field goal increased Boston College's lead to 31-17. But Wilson waited instead for Owen Spencer to get open on a deep route in the middle of the field against free safety Wes Davis.

When Wilson delivered a strike, Spencer completed a 61-yard touchdown play. N.C. State halved the deficit. Trailing 31-24 with 12:29 remaining, the Wolfpack appeared to have a chance to give coach Tom O'Brien a chance against his former team.

On fourth-and-9 from the 30, N.C. State's defense lined up in a must-stop situation on the first play of the fourth quarter.

But Boston College wideout Brandon Robinson got open deep on the corner to quarterback Chris Crane's left, beyond cornerback Justin Gray. Crane floated an easy pass to Robinson for a back-breaking, 27-yard gain to the 3.

N.C. State's defense bowed up to hold the Eagles to a 17-yard, Steve Aponavicius field goal with 12:29 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Wolfpack trailed 31-17.

When you consider that N.C. State managed just 27 yards of offense in the third quarter, chances of a comeback seemed doubtful.

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Some special teams trickery helped Boston College steal the momentum from N.C. State early in the third quarter at Carter-Finley Stadium.

On fourth-and-4 from its 41, Boston College fooled the Wolfpack with a fake punt. The Eagles snapped to upback James McCluskey, who handed to Brian Toal for a 39-yard gain to N.C. State's 20-yard line.

It was a demoralizing play. It seemed that N.C. State's defense had stopped Boston College for the fourth straight time, but instead, the Eagles were in scoring position. Four plays later, Chris Crane scored on a quarterback keeper, extending Boston College's lead to 28-17 with 9:13 remaining in the third quarter.

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Freshman linebacker Dwayne Maddox, who'd been a target in last week's 41-10 N.C. State loss to South Florida because of his inexperience, made his second big play of the second quarter to get the ball back for the Wolfpack.

After Ray Michel stripped scrambling quarterback Chris Crane, Maddox fell on the football as Boston College suffered its second straight turnover. Maddox had stripped Clarence Megwa earlier in the second quarter to cause a fumble that Willie Young recovered.

N.C. State couldn't capitalize on Maddox's recovery, though. Tight end Anthony Hill couldn't hold on to the ball on the first pass thrown to him after a four-game injury absence, and the Wolfpack was forced to punt.

But the Boston College offense that marched up and down the field at will in the first quarter, was shut down for the third straight time. The stiffening N.C. State defense forced a punt, holding the Eagles scoreless during the second quarter.

Boston College led 21-17 at halftime, but N.C. State had reason for optimism. The Eagles will kick off to start the second half, and N.C. State freshman T.J. Graham has kickoff returns of 60 yards and 100 yards for a touchdown.

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During the week, N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien mourned the absence due to injury of linebacker Nate Irving because of an ankle injury.

O'Brien said Irving made a number of plays to personally get the Wolfpack defense off the field with third-down stops or turnovers. N.C. State didn't get many of those early in Saturday's game against Boston College.

At one point, the Eagles converted four third downs in a row, including a third-and-9 and third-and-15. When that streak ended in the second quarter, Boston College simply converted the next play on a fourth-and-1 scramble by quarterback Chris Crane.

Finally, though, Irving's replacement made a big play. Maddox stripped Clarence Megwa, causing a fumble recovered by N.C. State defensive end Willie Young.

Then N.C. State was the recipient of a favorable replay review, as video apparently showed that Russell Wilson stretched far enough to gain a first down at midfield. That saved the N.C. State staff from having to call a fourth-and-1 play, and Wilson continued driving the Wolfpack.

A second replay review didn't go O'Brien's way, as it was ruled Wilson fumbled at the goal line on a third-down play. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 5, N.C. State settled for a 22-yard Josh Czajkowski field goal with 3:45 left in the first half.

N.C. State, which had trailed 21-7 late in the first quarter, had drawn within 21-17.

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Throughout the first quarter at Carter-Finley Stadium, Boston College offensive coordinator Steve Logan lived up to his reputation for unpredictability.

The Eagles had attempted just nine passes and rushing 40 times the previous week in a blowout of Rhode Island, but came out throwing against N.C. State under Logan, the colorful former East Carolina coach.

By the end of the first quarter, Boston College had thrown 18 passes and rushed just six times. Eagles quarterback Chris Crane, who'd thrown for just 461 yards and two touchdowns all season before Saturday, was 13-for-18 for 183 yards and two touchdowns as Boston College led 21-14.

N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien hadn't been fooled by the Rhode Island game, saying that the Eagles ran the ball a week ago because the weather was bad and the opponent was overmatched. But the Wolfpack defense didn't have much luck stopping Boston College, even if the staff wasn't surprised.

Despite the deficit, the quarter ended on a high for N.C. State. Freshman T.J. Graham, whose 60-yard kickoff return had been wasted on the previous drive when Russell Wilson was sacked on fourth-and-4, returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the quarter. 

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Before the game, a Carter-Finley usher gazed thankfully at a sky that didn't have a cloud in sight.

One week earlier, the usher and just about everybody else at the stadium was soaked and miserable as a second-quarter downpour punctuated a 41-10 drubbing of the Wolfpack by South Florida.

Saturday's game got off to a better start defensively for N.C. State than the previous outing, when South Florida scored touchdowns on its first three possessions.

Boston College received the opening kickoff and started with a quick passing game. After Chris Crane completed two passes for a total of 7 yards, he threw incomplete for Rich Gunnell on third-down, and the Eagles were forced to punt.

There was good news on N.C. State's first series as tight end Anthony Hill returned from a strained chest muscle that sideline him for four games, but the Wolfpack failed to make a first down.

Crane performed better on Boston College's second drive. He lifted a third-and-9 pass over cornerback Justin Gray's outstretched arm for 24 yards to Gunnell to keep the drive alive.

After being sacked, Crane delivered a third-and-15 dart across the middle to Justin Jarvis, who broke two tackles to complete a 41-yard touchdown play.

But N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson, back after missing the South Florida game with a shoulder injury, worked some magic on his second drive.

Wilson scrambled twice to find Jarvis Williams for leaping receptions, then ran 10 yards around right end on a read-option play for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 with 7:19 remaining in the first quarter.