I'll be here at 3.
3:16 - And Rutgers scores on the fake FG option! Schiano seems to have balls of steel whenever RU is on national TV. XP was just blocked though.
The game got off to an inauspicious start, with a bad kickoff, followed by a big NC State run. At the end of it though, Courtney Greene forced a fumble that Rutgers recovered. There were a few nice deep strikes on that drive, but Teel almost coughed up an int when facing heavy pressure, and had a few overthrows. The offense was in Shotgun for nearly the entire drive.
3:27 - Russell Wilson is goooood. NC State just marched down the field. Wilson can scramble, and he has a cannon. The NC State receiver had a few steps on the DB in the end zone. Rutgers needs to respond here, and it'd be nice if they could mix the run in to keep the Pack honest.
3:45 - At least NC State was held to a FG. We're seeing a few of the problems from early in the year returning. Jason McCourty is in full human target mode, and some of the deep passes aren't connecting.
3:53 - Uh oh. Teel is completely out of rhythm and missing wide open receivers. The layoff may have hurt him.
4:21 - ST gaffe by NC State on their punt, but Rutgers can't convert it to points. Teel threw it away on 3rd and five with heavy pressure on the right coming in his face, and then the FG was blocked.
4:39 - Now Rutgers is down by double digits. Russell Wilson is at a Pat White level of infuriating right now.
5:19 - Rutgers moved the ball a little on that drive, with a heavy dose of play action. Once again, they can't put the ball in the end zone however. I think the holding penalty on Caleb Ruch, where he drove a NC State defensive lineman to the ground, was a killer.
The ESPN announcers reported that Russell Wilson sprained his knee and won't return. The QB injury streak continues, even though Rutgers didn't really do anything to hurt him. He did come back out from the locker room, but wasn't wearing a helmet. Harrison Beck was struggling early in the year, so let's hope he hasn't learned a thing or two sitting on the bench.
5:27 - Malast blocks the punt! Ugly direct snap as McNulty is emptying the playbook today. And boom, Teel to Underwood! It's a whole new ballgame.
5:40 - That last series of plays was a microcosm of the entire season. NC State breaks a huge return. Teel throwing low-percentage passes deep down the sideline. Teel throws into triple coverage and the ball is deflected for an int. Oh, what's that? RYAN D'IMPALER returns the favor with an int of Beck.
5:54 - Well, at least they retook the lead. Joe Martinek was ripping off some nice runs there. Baffling sequence of plays at the end of the drive, and once again Rutgers settles for 3.
6:03 - Ah, damnit. NC State pulled the horrible QB for one that is looking pretty good. NC State took advantage of an all out blitz to score an easy TD to retake the lead.
6:11 - Eat that, Todd McShay. Please stop them, please stop them, please stop them...
6:18 - That'll do, Devin. Now, Rutgers needs more points here.
6:33 - Ok, up six. Schiano chose to kill the clock over the knockout punch. 47 seconds left. NC State needs a TD to win. The first step is stopping a big return here, and then they can't give up the big play.
6:39 - Greene caps off a great game with the clutch interception. He and Underwood have really turned it on lately. Upstream, redteam, victory!