Unranked N.C. State may lack a few football credentials, but it has mastered The Big Finish.
Disrespected and nearly dismissed after a November fiasco at Boston College, State completed an improbable triple-play comeback Tuesday night by beating Louisville 31-24 in the Belk Bowl.
The Wolfpack set up the moment with a 37-13 win against ACC champion Clemson and a 27-point rally against Maryland.
State delivered the rousing victory over the Big East co-champion on the wings of MVP Mike Glennon's three touchdown passes and David Amerson's 65-yard interception return for the other touchdown.
Amerson, the NCAA leader this season, broke the ACC record with his 12th and 13th interceptions and moved into a tie for second place all-time behind Al Worley of Washington (14 in 1968).
Glennon completed 21 of 33 passes for 264 yards, with one interception. "He was spot on all the way," coach Tom O'Brien said.
The Wolfpack (8-5) won for the sixth time in the final eight games. "Well," Glennon said, "8-5 sounds a lot better than 7-6."
Wolfpack fans — the vast majority in the crowd of 58,427 at Charlotte's NFL stadium — started celebrating before Louisville (7-6) stopped trying. The Cardinals rallied from 21 points down and regained possession with 1:35 left, trailing by seven.
State's defense frustrated the final drive, however, and Amerson sealed the result with his second interception.
"He was going to take that ball away from everybody," O'Brien said.
The aggression started early. State set the tone as Louisville drove on the game's opening series. Defensive tackle J.R. Sweezy hit quarterback Teddy Bridgewater just as he released a third-down pass, and State linebacker Terrell Manning intercepted.
The Wolfpack mixed short Glennon passes with freshman Tony Creecy's runs while advancing to the Louisville 6-yard line. Glennon whipped a short pass over the middle to T.J. Graham for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Louisville reversed the tide on a Wolfpack mistake. Punter Wil Baumann fumbled a low snap, and the Cardinals smothered the play at the State 5-yard line before Baumann could kick.
Bridgewater then scrambled to his right and extended the ball beyond the end-zone pylon before landing out of bounds, an 8-yard touchdown that tied the game at 7.
The Cardinals took a 10-7 lead on Chris Philpott's 32-yard field goal about 6 minutes before the half, the drive triggered by safety Calvin Pryor's interception of a deep Glennon pass on first down.
Glennon atoned immediately, moving the Wolfpack 80 yards in under 2 minutes. He threw 13 yards to Tobais Palmer on the first play and soon hit Graham for 13 more, softening the defense for a 35-yard touchdown strike to Palmer that put State on top 14-10 with 4:03 remaining in the half.
"That's probably the best catch I've seen all year," Glennon said.
Louisville returned the kickoff 58 yards and eventually faced fourth-and-1 at the State 31. Linebackers Manning and Audie Cole repelled runner Dominique Brown, and State took over.
Glennon hit the jackpot again. His third touchdown pass covered 68 yards to Graham, who outran the Cardinals secondary after the catch and extended the Wolfpack margin to 21-10 just before the half.
State opened the third quarter by burning up nearly 7 minutes on a 60-yard drive that was sustained by penalties for roughing the punter and maintaining a grip on Glennon's jersey after pulling him out of bounds. Niklas Sade's 34-yard field goal supplied a 24-10 lead.
The Wolfpack poured it on. Amerson, playing behind receiver Eli Rogers, reached over the top, intercepted Bridgewater's pass and ran 65 yards for a touchdown and a 31-10 cushion.
"You never feel like it's over at that point in a bowl game," O'Brien said.
A while later, it was.
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