CINCINNATI — If it could go wrong for N.C. State on Thursday night, it did.

Cincinnati turned the national showcase game on ESPN against the Wolfpack into a national embarrassment with a 44-14 bludgeoning at Nippert Stadium.

N.C. State (2-2) was hoping for a bounce-back from a loss in its first game against a major Division I opponent this season, instead it took a step back with a barrage of turnovers and mental miscues.

RALEIGH -- There were no tired legs when N.C. State was on the field Thursday night.

And aside from Tuffy, the wolflike Tamaskan dog mascot, nobody on the Wolfpack sideline had a tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Russell Wilson passed for 333 yards and three touchdowns as N.C. State defeated Cincinnati 30-19 at Carter-Finley Stadium, putting to rest coach Tom O’Brien’s concerns about playing just five days after a grueling Saturday night game in the Central Florida heat and humidity.

East Carolina football coach Skip Holtz is staying, Pirates athletics director Terry Holland told the Raleigh Sports Club at Highland Methodist Church Wednesday.

"We kept our coach," Holland said. "Thank goodness. And what a terrific guy he is."

Cincinnati, which Holtz turned down in 2007, apparently will hire Central Michigan coach Butch Jones.

East Carolina coach Skip Holtz turned down Cincinnati in 2007 and Pirate fans hope history repeats itself.

Cincinnati is the latest school to eye Holtz, it was Kansas last week, and the ECU football coach could have another list of pros and cons to weigh.