RALEIGH, N.C. _ Just when N.C. State appeared on its way to an easy win Saturday over Boston College, the Eagles made things very sticky for the No. 23 Wolfpack.
The Pack held on _ barely. N.C. State won, 28-23, at Carter-Finley Stadium, losing most of a 25-point second-half lead but not the game, and will take a 5-0 record _ 2-0 in the ACC _ to Clemson in two weeks for what could be a pivotal Atlantic Division matchup.
"We found a way to win against a really good team, and I knew BC wouldn't quit," Pack coach Dave Doeren said.
Trailing 28-3 late in third quarter, the Eagles, playing without injured running back A.J. Dillon, rallied within 28-23 in the fourth.
The Eagles (4-2, 1-1), down 28-16, were yards away from a touchdown when Ben Glines lost the ball and the Pack recovered. But the Eagles blocked an A.J. Cole punt and Travis Levy recovered in the end zone with 3:33 left to make it a five-point game.
N.C. State's Thayer Thomas recovered the onside kick. When Ryan Finley completed a 21-yard throw to Steph Louis to the BC 12, the victory was assured.
"Winning games like this is important because if it happens again you kind of have a sense of 'we've been there, done that,' " Finley said. "That was definitely important for us, to run the clock out like that and be in those pressure situations."
As for being 5-0 going into the Pack's bye week, Doeren said, "It's a great place to be right now, getting ready for a heck of a team down the road."
The guessing game went on all week: would Dillon play or not? The answer: no.
Dillon, the ACC preseason player of the year, did not make the trip with the Eagles after suffering an ankle injury last week against Temple. The sophomore has rushed for 652 yards this season, averaging 6.2 yards a carry.
"The decision to leave A.J. home was a simple one," BC coach Steve Addazio said. "It was in his best interest medically not to be on a plane. ... It creates more swelling. We would've loved nothing more than to have him here healthy."
The Eagles, without Dillon, had 51 yards rushing in the first half Saturday but finished with 120.
Glines had a 21-yard TD run late in the third quarter after quarterback Anthony Brown went 28 yards. That came after the Pack had taken a 28-3 lead.
The Wolfpack had an injury scare in the third quarter. Finley, on a keeper, picked up nine yards but then stayed down after the tackle.
Finley was taken out of the game, later said he was cramping, but quickly was back on the field and completing a throw to Louis.
After a review, BC linebacker Max Richardson was ejected from the game for a targeting penalty on the Louis catch.
The Pack had a field-goal try blocked, but Finley's 34-yard touchdown throw to Kelvin Harmon on the next possession pushed the State lead to 28-3 with 2:57 left in the third.
Finley closed 25-for-34 passing for 308 yards and two scores, with two picks, as the Wolfpack had 533 total yards. Harmon had nine catches for 128 yards and Jakobi Meyers 10 for 99.
The Pack converted 10 of 15 third-down plays while BC was 1-for-10, and State had 34 first downs and 41:30 in possession time. And held on.
"Tough game," Harmon said. "We made it tough on ourselves but we still came up and finished it."
Reggie Gallaspy, who had a career-best 104 yards on 25 carries, hasn't been a breakaway back for the Pack, getting most of his yards on shorter, bullish runs.
Gallaspy had two of those runs for touchdowns in the first half Saturday as the Wolfpack took a 21-3 lead, but a 22-yard run by the senior _ his longest of the season _ in the second period set up his second score.
Gallaspy smashed off the left side and kept churning, and the Eagles also were penalized for a horse-collar tackle at the end of the run. BC defensive end Zach Allen then was called for a personal foul. Gallaspy then scored on a 1-yard dive.
The Pack scored 43 seconds before halftime as Finley hit Meyers for a 4-yard score after three completions to Harmon.
The Eagles made things uneasy for the Pack in the fourth quarter.
Glines was open for an 11-yard scoring pass from Brown, pulling the Eagles within 28-16. BC tried to add a two-point conversion but Brown's pass was off target.
The Eagles then got a three-and-out series from its defense, forcing a punt, and moved inside the NCSU 10. Glines bulled into the line and the ball came loose during the scrum before the whistle blew.
The ruling was a fumble, recovered by the Pack's Germaine Pratt, with 6:09 left in the game. "I just ripped the ball out of his hands," Pratt said.
After a review, the ruling was upheld.
"Tough as nails,' Doeren said of the Pack defense.
Ricky Person has added a new dynamic to the Wolfpack offense, providing the quickness and elusiveness to go with Gallaspy's power running.
Person had 92 yards on 17 carries. The Pack had 225 yards after a season-high 176 yards rushing a week ago in the win over Virginia.
"I think our running game is really coming together," Finley said. "It was meshing really well."
Person did lose a fumble early in the fourth quarter _ State's fourth turnover. Gallaspy had 10 straight carries after the Person fumble.
"Reggie's ball security is the best that we have," Doeren said. "Ricky played a good football game but that'll be a play he learns from."
After a near-miss by the BC offense, the Pack didn't miss on its first possession of the game. Using a 20-yard sideline catch by Harmon, 13-yard run by Person and a 13-yard throw from Finley to Louis, the Pack quickly moved inside the BC 10.
On third-and-goal from the 3, the Wolfpack first used a timeout, then scored as Gallaspy banged in for the touchdown.
On BC's first possession, wideout Jeff Smith was open in the end zone on a deep pattern, but Brown overthrew him.
The Pack hasn't completely gotten all of its kicking game ills solved.
After a three-and-out series by State's defense after Gallaspy's first TD, Thomas fumbled the BC punt, the Eagles recovering at the NCSU 20 and getting a 34-yard field goal from Colton Lichtenberg.
The Pack's Chris Dunn, who had made eight of 10 field-goal attempts this season, had a 19-yarder blocked in the third period. Cole then had the blocked punt for a BC touchdown.
