N.C. State made a bunch of big plays, Syracuse just made more.
Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey outdueled N.C. State's Ryan Finley to lead the Orange to a 51-41 home win over No. 22 N.C. State on Saturday night.
The two offenses combined for 1,102 yards, 953 through the air, and 51 first downs but it was a defensive play, an interception by junior linebacker Andrew Armstrong with 2:18 left, that sealed the win for the Orange (6-2, 3-2 ACC).
The Wolfpack (5-2, 2-2 ACC) offense recovered from a lopsided loss at Clemson last week but the defense couldn't slow the Orange's fast-break attack. Finley threw for a career-high 473 yards and receiver Kelvin Harmon rebounded from a subpar outing with 11 catches for a career-high 247 yards.
But N.C. State couldn't avoid its second straight loss and first loss to Syracuse since 2013. Finley, who completed 26 of 44 passes and had three touchdowns, had a chance to pull out a comeback win.
Down 44-41, the Wolfpack got the ball back with 3:12 left on its own 14-yard line. Finley missed a first-down pass to receiver Thayer Thomas and then had a dump off to Reggie Gallaspy go for no gain. On third down, Syracuse pressured Finley and his pass over the middle was picked off by Armstrong at the N.C. State 23
The sixth win of the season qualified the Orange for a bowl game for the first time under third-year coach Dino Babers and the first time in five years. N.C. State was shorthanded on offense, with three starters _ running back Ricky Person, receiver Steph Louis and right tackle Justin Witt _ out with injuries, while cornerback Nick McCloud was out with an injury on defense.
The Wolfpack made do on offense but needed every available body on defense. Dungey completed 27 of 38 passes for 411 yards. He threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.
Dungey was benched late in Syracuse's overtime win over North Carolina last week. There was some question of whether he would start this week against the Wolfpack after his backup, Tommy DeVito, threw three touchdowns to lead the Orange to a 40-37 comeback win against UNC.
Dungey had Syracuse's breathing fire early. Finley hit receiver Emeka Emezie for a 67-yard touchdown at 9:44 in the first quarter to give the Wolfpack a brief 7-3 lead. The Orange scored three straight touchdowns to take a 24-7 advantage by the end of the quarter. Dungey connected with Nykeim Johnson for an 82-yard touchdown and then set up a short touchdown run with a 45-yard strike to Jamal Custis.
Custis, a big 6-5 target, got matched up on N.C. State defensive back Tanner Ingle (who is 5-10) and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Dungey for a 24-7 lead. Down 24-10, after the first of two short field goals by freshman kicker Chris Dunn, the Wolfpack got back in the game after a bad penalty by Syracuse's special teams.
A roughing the punter call gave N.C. State a second chance, after the Syracuse defense had forced a three-and-out. Finley took advantage of the new opportunity and hit Harmon for a 74-yard touchdown. Syracuse scored on its first two possessions in the second half and led 34-20 and 41-27 before the defense was able to get a stop and give Finley a chance to win the game.
In a game full of passing yards and big plays, it was a defensive turnover that made the difference.
