Glennon guides Wolfpack to victory
Published 8:39 pm Saturday, October 8, 2011
RALEIGH — Mike Glennon passed for 244 yards and four touchdowns to help North Carolina State beat Central Michigan 38-24 on Saturday.
James Washington rushed for 109 yards and a score for the Wolfpack (3-3), who picked up their first win against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent this season.
N.C. State, which trailed 17-14 midway through the second quarter, scored 24 consecutive points to seize control.
The Wolfpack’s much-maligned defense forced five turnovers and stopped the Chippewas from scoring on eight consecutive possessions at one point.
Ryan Radcliff passed for 245 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions for Central Michigan (2-4).
Paris Cotton ran for 158 yards and a touchdown as the Chippewas dropped to 0-7 all time against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Wolfpack, hindered by injuries on defense all season, welcomed back a couple of key contributors in linebacker Terrell Manning and lineman Brian Slay. Manning had a sack, a forced fumble and a key interception in the second half after missing the last two games with a knee injury.
N.C. State entered the game last in the ACC in points allowed and 11th in the league in total yards allowed. But Central Michigan, which racked up 254 yards in the first half, managed just 43 yards in the third quarter.
Radcliff was just 1 of 10 passing with three interceptions in the third quarter after completing 15 of 17 passes in the first half.
The Chippewas cut N.C. State’s lead to 38-24 on a 77-yard touchdown run by Cotton midway through the fourth quarter, and they recovered the ensuing onside kick. But David Amerson came up with his second interception of the day, picking off Radcliff’s pass in the end zone to help preserve the victory for N.C. State.
The game was a shootout at the start, with each team scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter. Glennon, who threw three touchdown passes in the first half, capped the Wolfpack’s first two drives with scoring strikes to George Bryan and Jay Smith.
Radcliff matched Glennon with two touchdown passes of his own, but the Chippewas couldn’t keep up the pace once they started losing the ball.
Central Michigan gave up the ball inside N.C. State’s 20 late in the second quarter when Titus Davis lost a fumble at the end of a 46-yard reception. Radcliff then threw interceptions on his team’s first two possessions of the second half.
Manning picked off the first pass, and Glennon cashed in on the chance with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tobias Palmer that put N.C. State ahead 28-17.
Washington scored on a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter after another Radcliff interception to extend the Wolfpack’s lead to 35-17.
N.C. State came out in uniforms different from the red jerseys and white pants that it traditionally wears at home. The Wolfpack wore black jerseys featuring pink numerals for breast cancer awareness, black pants and red helmets.