ORLANDO - Senior place-kicker Josh Czajkowski had a memorable finish to a productive career.

N.C. State’s defense bounced back from some late-season struggles against the pass. And the Wolfpack delivered the first bowl win in coach Tom O’Brien’s four seasons in a 23-7 defeat of No. 22 West Virginia on Tuesday night in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Josh Czajkowski didn’t merely make a near-miraculous return from a hamstring injury that was originally thought to be season-ending. The N.C. State kicker had a 47-yarder among his two field goals and three extra points in a 29-25 win over North Carolina.

“I told him on Thursday he should have done this a long time ago,” N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien said. “No, I did. I said, ‘You should have pulled your hamstring a long time ago,’ because he’s smooth. … He’s kicking the ball better, he feels better, there’s a much better rhythm the way he’s doing it.”

CHAPEL HILL - Senior Josh Czajkowski, who had been ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury, will kick field goals and extra points for N.C. State in today's game at North Carolina, which kicks off shortly after noon.

Freshman Chris Hawthorne, who subbed for Czajkowski last week, will continue handling kickoffs today.

Czajkowski is tied for fourth in career field goals in N.C. State history with 40.

Josh Czajkowski might be able to kick again for N.C. State this season after all.

Czajkowski previously was ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury suffered Nov. 6 at Clemson. But on N.C. State's weekly injury report, which was released today, Czajkowski was listed as questionable for Saturday's game at North Carolina, which begins at noon.

N.C. State senior place-kicker Josh Czajkowski will miss at least the remainder of the regular season because of a leg injury, Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien announced today at his weekly news conference.

Czajkowski injured his hamstring on the Wolfpack's final kickoff  in Saturday's 14-13 loss to Clemson. It's unclear whether he will be able to return for N.C. State's bowl game.

Sophomore Ellis Flint and freshman Chris Hawthorne will compete for the starting position in practice this week. Flint is a former Hofstra player who transferred after that school dropped its football program at the end of last season.

Czajkowski had attended kicking camp with him and brought it to the N.C. State coaching staff's attention that Flint needed to find a place to play.

N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien is confident in his team's maturity, pleased with the development of his linebackers and unconcerned about place-kicker Josh Czajkowski's struggles at Georgia Tech.

Here are excerpts from O'Brien's news conference Monday as the Wolfpack (4-0, 1-0 ACC) prepares for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game with Virginia Tech (2-2, 1-0) at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Q: I guess the next step is handling the success. How do you help your team in doing that and staying focused and do you sense this is a mature enough group to be able to do that?

The news that former Boston College kicker Billy Bennett wasn't going to be joining N.C. State hurt the Wolfpack most on its kickoff team.

Coach Tom O'Brien had hoped Bennett could boot kickoffs into the end zone to put N.C. State's defense in better field position, but Bennett didn't enroll this fall. O'Brien is eager to improve on the Wolfpack's net kickoff number, which at 37.3 yards per game was by far the lowest in the ACC.

Senior kicker Josh Czajkowski, whom O'Brien said has improved his kickoffs since last season, will handle that duty now that the strong-legged Bennett isn't coming.

Quarterback Russell Wilson remains a bit off target, linebacker Nate Irving didn't scrimmage and the defense held firm in N.C. State's first preseason scrimmage Monday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Coach Tom O'Brien shared only limited statistics from the scrimmage. He revealed that the offense completed eight of 20 passes for 116 yards and rushed 55 times for 92 yards.

O'Brien said Wilson, who spent the spring and summer playing baseball, is still "a little bit off," but the coach didn't sound concerned.