By Dave Holcomb
SouthernPigskin.com

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Dave Holcomb recaps Wake Forest’s dramatic win over NC State.

Teams that commit three giveaways dont win many college football games. Neither do teams that allow 482 yards and are outgained 482-406.

Its also not easy to win when your quarterback completes under 43 percent of his passes.

All three of those things happened for Wake Forest on Saturday night against NC State. But the Demon Deacons defense played well early, and the offense worked through its problems to extend its streak of scoring at least 35 points to 10 straight games.

More importantly, Wake Forest knocked off NC State, 48-45. With the win, the Demon Deacons move to 6-0 in the ACC and one victory away from clinching the ACC Atlantic division title.

One of the storylines coming into this matchup was how Wake Forest would respond to losing its first game last weekend. At first, it wasnt good for Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman. He threw two interceptions last week and had another one in the second quarter Saturday. On six of its first nine possessions, Wake Forest punted four times, threw an interception and missed a field goal.

But the other three drives ended in touchdowns, and thanks to the Wake Forest defense, the Demon Deacons held a 21-6 lead late in the second quarter. In the first 28 minutes, Wake Forest held NC State to only two field goals and 175 yards. The Demon Deacons also forced two takeaways, which led to one of the three touchdowns.

The final box score doesnt look great for the Wake Forest defense. NC States offense woke up to score 14 points in the final two minutes of the first half. The Wolfpack finished with five touchdowns and their highest yardage total in a game against the Power 5 opponent this season.

But how the Wake Forest defense played early Saturday gave Hartman and the offense time to work out their problems. Overall, the defense recorded three takeaways, which canceled out Hartmans mistakes.

In addition to the second-quarter interception, Hartman threw two more picks in the second half. After tossing three interceptions in the first eight games, Hartman has five picks in the last eight quarters. Hartman also posted a completion percentage below 50% for the second straight week.

Following his third pick, though, Hartman led Wake Forest on back-to-back scoring drives in the fourth quarter. The second one ate 6:40 off the clock and gave the Demon Deacons a 10-point lead with 1:47 remaining.

Wake Forest struggled the entire night on the ground, but not on the final drive. The Demon Deacons capped off their eventual game-winning drive with five runs for 33 yards. Before that, they only had 41 rushing yards.

Despite scoring that touchdown, the game was still not finished. NC State reached the end zone a little more than a minute later and very nearly recovered an onside kick to have an opportunity to kick a game-tying field goal in the final seconds.

But the Wolfpack ultimately made too many mistakes to win a Top 15 road matchup. NC State committed 14 accepted penalties for 119 yards. The Wolfpack also didnt score any points off their three takeaways.

Quarterback Dennis Leary was good but not great. He went 37 for 59 with 408 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Hartman completed 20 of 47 passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

The victory essentially gives Wake Forest a two-game lead in the ACC Atlantic with two games to go. Wake Forest will visit Clemson, who is actually still involved in the Atlantic race, next week. Meanwhile, NC State will finish the season against Syracuse and North Carolina.