RALEIGH, N.C. _ Just when it looked liked neither team could beat Hurricane Matthew, Pharoah McKever saved N.C. State.
Again.
McKever's punt block, scooped up by Dexter Wright and returned for a touchdown, lifted N.C. State to a 10-3 rain-soaked win over Notre Dame on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Matthew drenched the field and soaked the fans for three quarters. After nine fumbles and countless other muffs and weather-related mistakes, it looked the quagmire would carry the day.
But McKever, a little-used tight end, came up with just the play N.C. State (4-1) needed to improve to 2-0 against the Fighting Irish (2-4).
It was McKever who delivered coach Dave Doeren his first ACC win in 2014 at Syracuse with an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown. McKever was a defensive end then and has since switched to tight end, where he has only played seven snaps this season.
But the 6-foot-6 McKever bull-rushed Notre Dame's up backs and got his right hand up to get a piece of Tyler Newsome's punt at 12:43 in the fourth quarter.
Wright picked it up at the 16-yard line, bobbled it once and then controlled it long enough to get a key block from McKever and score the game's lone touchdown.
As expected under a steady downpour from kickoff through the final whistle, offense was scarce for both sides. N.C. State actually fumbled six times, recovering four of them, while Notre Dame had four fumbles, getting two back.
Notre Dame finished with 117 total yards on 63 plays while N.C. State, with 126 rushing yards from Matt Dayes, managed 173 total yards.
The Wolfpack took a 3-0 lead on a 38-yard field goal by Kyle Bambard at 1:20 in the first quarter.
The Wolfpack actually moved the ball, with relative ease, on its opening drive. Dayes and Jaylen Samuels had success on the ground and got the offense down to the Notre Dame 8-yard line.
Quarterback Ryan Finley hit tight end Cole Cook for an 8-yard touchdown pass, but the play was called back after an N.C. State penalty.
Since receiver Stephen Louis was on the line of scrimmage, on the outside of Cook, Cook was an ineligible receiver.
The Fighting Irish snuffed out the subsequent third-down attempt, and Bambard missed a 31-yard attempt wide right.
N.C. State's offense got the ball back, after a 22-yard punt by Notre Dame, and moved down to the Notre Dame 20 but had to settle for Bambard's field goal.
The sophomore punched the line drive through from the left hash from 38 yards out.
Notre Dame was able to tie the score with a 40-yard field goal by Justin Yoon at 11:04 in the third quarter.
Yoon made his kick at the same end of the field and also nailed a low liner. Notre Dame had three chances, after two fumbles and botched punt attempt, inside N.C. State territory but could only come up with the three points.
The Wolfpack seemed to find the right formula in the third quarter with backup quarterback Jalan McClendon running the ball.
McClendon had eight carries for 51 yards on one drive and got the Wolfpack offense down to Notre Dame's 3-yard line.
But on third-and-goal, Finley came back in and tried to toss the ball to running back Reggie Gallaspy. The errant toss went backward 16 yards, and N.C. State was unable to get off the subsequent field-goal attempt.
That felt like it was going to be N.C. State's best chance to score and win the game. McKever made sure it wasn't.
