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Eagles edge Pack 38-31
Boston College gets big lift from Crane to hold on for win
AP Photo
Rich Gunnell of Boston College beats N.C. State’s Clem Johnson with this 12-yard touchdown reception.
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Published: October 5, 2008
RALEIGH - N.C. State found out just how good All-ACC quarterback Matt Ryan really was at Boston College in yesterday's 38-31 loss to the Eagles in Carter Finley Stadium.
Ryan, now a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons, was good enough to keep Chris Crane on the sideline.
Crane, a 6-4, 239-pound fifth-year senior, made the most of his long-awaited opportunity by completing 34 of 51 passes for 428 yards while passing or running for all five of the Eagles' touchdowns.
He scored his final touchdown on a 13-yard run with 22.8 seconds remaining to cap a 70-yard game-winning drive. The result was a blow to the Wolfpack, which had rallied behind quarterback Russell Wilson to tie the game with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
N.C. State fell to 2-4 and 0-2 in the ACC. BC improved to 4-1 and 1-1.
Both teams are off next Saturday.
"It hurt pretty bad," linebacker Dwayne Maddox said. "We were in great position to take the game win and be 3-3 and 1-1 in the conference.
"When you have a game in your hands like that and you don't take advantage of it, you think about it all day and for the rest of the week. But now there's nothing you can do about it.
"You've just got to put it in the past."
Crane, whose attempts, completions, yardage and touchdown passes were all career highs, came into yesterday's game still trying to live up to the legacy left by Ryan, last season's ACC Player of the Year.
Yesterday's performance didn't surprise Coach Tom O'Brien of N.C. State, who recruited Crane before leaving his position as the Eagles' head coach after the 2006 season.
"He's a patient man," O'Brien said of Crane. "I guess even a couple of weeks ago they booed him in Boston because he wasn't throwing the ball well.
"You've got to give the kid a lot of credit. He came in here and he came out firing. He had a heck of a first half."
Wilson, returning from an undisclosed injury that sidelined him in last week's 41-10 home loss to South Florida, pierced a highly regarded Eagles defense for 19 completions on 33 attempts for 218 yards. He rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one.
Wilson was at his best after Steve Aponavicius' 17-yard field goal gave BC a 31-17 lead with 12½ minutes remaining, answering immediately with a 61-yard touchdown pass to Owen Spencer, and later directing a 63-yard drive on five plays.
His 2-yard touchdown run around left end tied the game at 31 with 3:33 remaining.
"I never doubted our team," Wilson said. "We had chances. It's tough."
Unfazed, Crane shook off a hit by Maddox on a first-down incompletion to find Lars Anderson, the Eagles' second-team tight end, breaking open down the middle for a 36-yard completion to the Wolfpack 34.
"It was a heartbreaker on that long pass," defensive tackle Keith Willis, Jr. said. "It was a real heartbreaker."
The Eagles converted a third-and-1 on Montel Harris' 3-yard run, and then Crane took over. He carried around left end for 9 yards, and a play later carried the ball 13 yards for the winning touchdown.
The Eagles were solid on fourth downs, successfully picking up first downs on three of four tries.
One conversion that rocked the Wolfpack was a fake punt early in the second half that Brian Toal carried 39 yards deep into N.C. State territory. Crane scored on a carry around right end four plays later for a 28-17 lead.
"I've been waiting to run that for two years," Coach Jeff Jagodzinski of BC said.
The Wolfpack, held to 265 yards last week by South Florida, had its moments yesterday, none of more exciting than a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by freshman T.J. Graham. The run set a school record, eclipsing the previous record of 99 yards by Darrell Blackman against Clemson last season.
But ultimately the Wolfpack couldn't thwart the Eagles' offense, which rolled to 28 first downs and control more than 35 of the game's 60 minutes.
Boston College 21 0 7 10 -- 38
N.C. State 14 3 0 14 -- 31
First Quarter
BC--Jarvis 41 pass from Crane (Aponavicius kick), 9:46.
NCSU--R.Wilson 10 run (Czajkowski kick), 7:19.
BC--Gunnell 12 pass from Crane (Aponavicius kick), 4:10.
BC--Crane 5 run (Aponavicius kick), :09.
NCSU--Graham 100 kickoff return (Czajkowski kick), :00.
Second Quarter
NCSU--FG Czajkowski 22, 3:45.
Third Quarter
BC--Crane 1 run (Aponavicius kick), 9:13.
Fourth Quarter
BC--FG Aponavicius 17, 12:29.
NCSU--Spencer 61 pass from R.Wilson (Czajkowski kick), 12:11.
NCSU--R.Wilson 2 run (Czajkowski kick), 3:33.
BC--Crane 13 run (Aponavicius kick), :23.
A--55,652.
TEAM STATISTICS
BC NCSt
First downs 28 15
Rushes-yards 30-150 22-35
Passing 428 218
Comp-Att-Int 34-51-1 19-33-0
Return Yards 22 3
Punts-Avg. 2-43.5 5-39.6
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 3-0
Penalties-Yards 6-62 1-11
Time of Possession 35:07 24:46
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--BC, Crane 11-42, Toal 1-39, Harris 7-37, Haden 7-21, McCluskey 3-8, J.Smith 1-3. NCSU, Eugene 4-26, Brown 3-5, R.Wilson 15-4.
PASSING--BC, Crane 34-51-1-428. NCSU, R.Wilson 19-33-0-218.
RECEIVING--BC, Gunnell 11-123, Jarvis 5-74, Robinson 4-67, McCluskey 4-32, L.Anderson 3-53, Purvis 2-32, Megwa 2-12, Larmond 1-16, Momah 1-10, Haden 1-9. NCSU, Ja.Williams 4-35, Spencer 3-102, Eugene 3-14, Davis 2-26, Graham 2-5, Bryan 1-20, Gentry 1-9, Hill 1-9, Smith 1-1, Brown 1-(minus 3).
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