N.C. State wins game, key recruit Saturday

Published Sept. 28, 2009 at 3:00 a.m.

N.C. State's come-from-behind, 38-31 defeat of Pittsburgh on Saturday night helped deliver one of the top prospects in North Carolina.

Cary High senior Fre'Shad Hunter said Sunday that the Wolfpack's performance in the win helped him decide to commit to N.C. State after the game.

He said N.C. State was one of the first teams to offer him a scholarship and has been his top choice throughout his recruitment.

"It's a dream come true," he said. "I grew up watching N.C. State, seeing all the fans, watching them on TV. Now I'm going to be playing for them. It's crazy."

The Observer rates Hunter as the fifth-best prospect in North Carolina. He is 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds and is expected to play defensive end in college. Hunter also had Florida State, Louisiana State and Tennessee among his finalists.

Hunter gives N.C. State three commitments among the Observer's top six prospects in North Carolina. Two of those top six prospects remain uncommitted.

Athens Drive offensive lineman Robert Crisp and Southern Durham wide receiver Anthony Creecy are the other highly rated in-state commitments in the Wolfpack's class.

It sounds like Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt at least hoped that quarterback Russell Wilson wouldn't scramble much for N.C. State.

Wannstedt had noticed that Wilson stayed mostly in the pocket through the Wolfpack's first three games. But on Saturday, Wilson turned loose all his skills in a 38-31, come-from-behind win at Carter-Finley Stadium.

He rushed for a career-high 91 yards on 10 carries and passed for 322 yards and four touchdowns as N.C. State's defense came to life and shut out the Panthers over the final 19 minutes.

North Carolina

The Tar Heels took their first loss of the season 24-7 at Georgia Tech, losing their ninth straight ACC opener. The Tar Heels (3-1) gave up 317 rushing yards, 160 more yards than they had given up in the first three games combined, and turned over the ball three times.

The Jackets also had a significant advantage in terms of time of possession, 42 minutes, 6 seconds to 17:54.

It was a tough day for North Carolina's defense, particularly the line, but sophomore defensive end Robert Quinn continued his sensational start with a career-best 10 tackles.

The Tar Heels return home next week for their 114th meeting with Virginia (0-3), which is coming off a bye week. The Cavaliers have won two of the past three in the series in Chapel Hill and six of seven overall.

-- J.P. Giglio

Duke

Coach David Cutcliffe said his team's 49-14 victory against N.C. Central on Saturday was something to build on, in particular the 233 yards the Blue Devils collected on the ground.

Also, the Duke receivers held on to passes by senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, who looked sharp. He completed 17 of 25 attempts for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown.

Running back Desmond Scott gained 100 yards Saturday and rushed for a touchdown in his first career start.

Donovan Varner returned for an injury to catch six passes for a career high 76 yards and two touchdowns.

Kicker Nick Maggio finished 7-for-7 on extra point attempts. He is 50-for-50 for his career.

-- Edward G. Robinson

Clemson

The offense's miseries in the red zone overshadowed an otherwise stellar job in erasing Texas Christian's All-American defensive end Jerry Hughes.

Hughes, the nation's reigning leader in sacks, was credited with two tackles and a single quarterback hurry against a variety of Clemson protections.

Redshirt sophomore Landon Walker more than held his own in one-on-one situations, but the Tigers also devoted a tight end to Hughes' side on about one-third of their first-half snaps, and Hughes was unable to out-quick them.

For the second straight home game, Clemson slogged through a driving rain, and fog even rolled in midway through the fourth quarter.

Players from both teams had their shares of slips, but none more costlier than when Tigers tight end Dwayne Allen briefly lost his footing cutting toward the goal line with the Tigers facing second-and-13 from the TCU 17 with just more than two minutes left. Kyle Parker's pass sailed through at the spot Allen was intended to be.

"Right call, right play," coach Dabo Swinney said. "We just didn't make the play. It was certainly there to be made."

-- Paul Strelow

South Carolina

South Carolina has a 30-second video on its Web site that shows the Gamecocks dancing and chanting during a locker room celebration following last week's 16-10 victory against No.4 Mississippi.

Coach Steve Spurrier understands the excitement, but thought the celebration might be more muted for a few players.

"It was interesting to me how the guys all celebrate the victory so much, even guys that didn't play very well," Spurrier said Sunday. "I'm one of those guys that if I didn't play very well or the people I coach didn't perform all that well, it puts a little bit of damper on it."

While acknowledging he was happy with the win – South Carolina's first at home against a top-5 opponent in its history – the Head Ball Coach said the Gamecocks have more work to do offensively.

Through four games, the Gamecocks are last in the SEC and 95th among 120 teams nationally in red zone offense, scoring on 73 percent of their chances inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

South Carolina has given up more sacks than anyone in the conference and is next to last in the SEC in scoring with 24.5 points per game.

But it has not been all doom and gloom for the Gamecocks' offense. Quarterback Stephen Garcia has taken much better care of the ball, putting South Carolina among the top 20 nationally in turnover margin (plus-1 per game).

-- Joseph Person

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