NC State football: What they're saying about Boston College loss

NC State football was stunned on Saturday afternoon, falling in the final seconds to Boston College in a 21-20 loss. Here is some of what those who covered the game are saying.

Matt Carter, The Wolfpacker — Column: A night to forget for NC State football

Losing 21-20 to Boston College is hard enough to swallow. How that defeat unfolded and what the loss meant stings far more.

Gone is the 16-game home winning streak. Gone is being mentioned among the teams with the longest consecutive weeks of being ranked in the polls. Gone is the fond farewell that a large group of influential NC State seniors deserved in their final home game.

All at the hands of a BC team who will not being going to a bowl and was in the discussion for being the worst team in the ACC. The Eagles were also playing with a makeshift offensive line that at times looked overwhelmed.

“I don’t really know what to say,” a clearly dejected NC State football head Dave Doeren responded when asked to start his postgame press conference with an opening statement.

The game unfolded a lot like the season-opener at East Carolina. The lone difference was BC did not pay NC State the favor of blowing their chance to win the game.

Ethan McDowell, The Wolfpacker — Dave Doeren, NC State athletes react to Boston College loss

More than 30 athletes participated in Saturday’s senior day ceremony, some with eligibility remaining. For those who are done with college football after this season, they will finish their career at Carter-Finley Stadium with a bad taste in their mouths.

Wilson participated in senior day despite his junior standing, and he discussed the emotions surrounding the team in the locker room after the game.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” Wilson said. “It’s pretty tough. I think that a lot of us were really excited to leave Carter-Finley with a win, and it’s just tough that we couldn’t get it done. I hurt for everyone but, at the end of the day, we’ve still got two more games to go out there and give it our all.”

This was NC State’s first loss to Boston College in Raleigh since 2016. Doeren shared his thoughts on the defeat.

“Pretty down for these kids,” Doeren said. “Obviously, we didn’t play well enough to win, didn’t coach well enough to win, and I’ll always put that on me.

“I hate it for these seniors, a great group of young men, and we didn’t get it done.”

Chip Alexander, News & Observer — ‘Hate it for these seniors’: What we learned about NC State in loss to Boston College

A week after Pack quarterback MJ Morris was being touted on the ACC Network for his poised play in beating Wake Forest, the freshman realized again Saturday how much he still has to learn about the college game.

He lost three fumbles in the second half. He had a pass picked off and nearly one or two others as he forced some throws. He was sacked twice and never hurt the Eagles on quarterback runs and scrambles.

His final numbers: 12-of-24 passing for 135 yards and 22 yards in 13 carries. Nothing special there.

“It wasn’t my best game, but I feel like I did play hard,” Morris said. “I feel like I did play with heart. There were some mistakes that I made I wish I hadn’t, but everybody is not perfect and everybody is going to make those mistakes. It’s how you go from now on.

“We’re going to learn from it, we’re going to fix those mistakes we made, and we’re going to get better from them. As long as we learn from it, it’s a win. I’ve still got (some) more years to show everybody who I am. I’m mad and disappointed, but I’ll keep my head down and keep working.”

David Thompson, Fayetteville Observer — NC State football vs. Boston College report card: Worst loss of Dave Doeren era

Was this the worst loss of the Dave Doeren era? It’s definitely up for debate. NC State was a three-touchdown favorite and allowed Boston College to leave Raleigh with just its third win of the season. Coming off a top-20 win over Wake Forest, the Wolfpack should have rolled to its eighth win of the season but instead is looking like a program bound to play in a condiment-based bowl game.

Trevor Hass, Boston Globe — Emmett Morehead’s TD pass to Joe Griffin with 14 seconds left lifts Boston College over North Carolina State

N.C. State, also playing with a promising but inexperienced quarterback, gave the Eagles plenty of chances late. Morris fumbled near midfield, and Okpala recovered, but Morehead threw another pick moments later as N.C. State kept a 6-point edge through three.

DePalma recovered a fumble early in the fourth, and Elijah Jones later intercepted Morris, but the Eagles couldn’t capitalize until the final drive.

Morehead found Dino Tomlin for 29 yards and George Takacs for 17, and eventually Griffin to secure one of the Eagles’ most monumental wins this millennium.

The run of 25 straight losses to ranked teams — the second-longest streak in the country — is history, and Hafley couldn’t be happier. As the Eagles celebrated, Hafley didn’t want them to stop.

“No one thought we could win, but the one group that did was our team,” Hafley said. “That locker room is still loud right now, and it’s going to be, and it should be. They deserve it. I’m really, really proud of them.”

Rich Thompson, Boston Herald — Boston College upsets North Carolina State with late TD

Boston College staged a major upset victory while wide receiver Zay Flowers won the day.

Eagles’ redshirt freshman quarterback Emmett Morehead completed a two-yard touchdown toss to freshman wide receiver Joe Griffin with 14 seconds remaining to secure a 21-20 victory over No. 17 North Carolina State on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Griffin drew a pass interference call inside the NC State 5 to set up the game-winning catch.

Morehead completed 29-of-48 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns with two picks in his second career start. Morehead has passed for 330 yards in consecutive games.

“I think you saw the future last week and you saw it again,” said BC coach Jeff Hafley. “Joe was dealing with an injury and we didn’t know how much he was going to play.

“He drew the PI and on that last play and the amount of time those two have worked on that play together it was almost like second nature.”

BC beat a ranked team for the first time since 2014 to improve to 3-7 and 2-5 in the ACC. BC will face its fourth ranked opponent in six games when the Eagles face No. 20 Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend. NC State (7-3, 3-3) fumbled its opportunity to set a school record with its 17th straight home win.

“No one thought we could win but the one group that did was our team,” said Hafley. “They deserve it and I’m really proud of them and it was fun to be a part of.

“That is one of the best teams in the country at their place and they are a veteran team. It is certainly more rewarding knowing you came in with everything stacked up against you and still got it done.”

Brian Murphy, WRAL.com — Boston College stuns No. 16 NC State in final home game of season

The pass came after a pass interference call on NC State linebacker Drake Thomas on fourth down gave Boston College a fresh set of downs at the Wolfpack 2.

“I thought Drake made a fantastic play, disappointed a flag was thrown on a play like that,” Doeren said. “I thought it was a bang-bang play to win the game. I don’t know how you throw that flag, really disappointing call by that official.”

The Wolfpack was aiming for its 17th consecutive home win, which would have been a school record. The program celebrated more than 30 seniors, even some with eligibilty remaining, before the game, its last home contest of the season.

“It’s tough,” said redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson, who had three tackles for loss and an interception. “We all worked really hard to get to where we’re at and to not be able to walk out of Carter-Finley with a win is disheartening.”

NC State’s offense scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, but struggled throughout the second half. The Wolfpack’s nine second-half possessions resulted in one field goal, four punts, four turnovers and just 66 yards.

Associated Press — BC throws TD pass with 14 seconds left, edges No. 17 NC St

Making his second career start, Emmett Morehead hadn’t gotten much practice time directing a two-minute offense for Boston College.

He came through big time when it really counted.

Morehead threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Griffin Jr. with 14 seconds left and the Eagles rallied past No. 17 North Carolina State 21-20 Saturday, their first win over a Top 25 team in eight years.

“Two-minute drills end up deciding a lot of games,” Morehead said. “It’s just executing your job. Guys making plays across the board.”

The Eagles (3-7, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) won with a 12-play, 69-yard drive. A pass interference penalty on Wolfpack linebacker Drake Thomas on fourth down with 18 seconds left gave Boston College another chance.

“That’s probably the funnest game I’ve ever played here,” defensive end Marcus Valdez said. “That belief has been there. Now that belief is going to skyrocket.”

Griffin Cunningham, Technician — Boston College foils senior day, NC State football falls 21-20

The Wolfpack defense was all over Morehead the entire game. Junior linebacker Drake Thomas attacked the field, racking up six total tackles, a pass breakup, five quarterback hits and three tackles for a loss. On one of the final plays of the game, Thomas was flagged for pass interference on a play that would’ve sealed the game for the Wolfpack but instead led to a Boston College touchdown.

“Personally, it’s a bad call,” said redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson. “[Thomas] made a hell of a play.”

Neither team carried much momentum going into the third quarter. Both offenses were stagnant for a large portion of the quarter and made mistakes to set up the opposing team.

Morris made a handful of rookie mistakes in his second start. One of the biggest issues in this game was his willingness to pull the ball down and run. Graduate center Grant Gibson was injured in the first half, which proved to be detrimental to the offense. Without Gibson, Morris couldn’t capture the electricity he found earlier in the game, as every time he took off to run he had little-to-no gain in yardage. 

Morris was sacked twice and had carries that went for a negative gain three times in the second half. It takes time for young quarterbacks to go through their progressions — something that he’ll see in film and will likely work on as he gains experience.

The Eagles had their fair share of mistakes as well. One of the most crucial mistakes was a fumble on a punt return. The Wolfpack would end up kicking a 45-yard field goal to go up 20-7, but that would be the last time NC State got on the scoreboard.