BCS Buster Busted

RALEIGH - Former J.H. Rose standout Andre Brown grew up just a few miles away from the East Carolina campus.

So when Brown scored the game-winning touchdown in N.C. State's 30-24 victory over ECU Saturday, the senior running back experienced some mixed emotions.

"It was a humble victory and I respect all of those guys over there," Brown said. "But for us to go out there and win, I think it was a great step for our team. It was a big victory for the Wolfpack."

Brown's 10-yard touchdown run in overtime stomped on ECU's dream of crashing the BCS party.

N.C. State's defense forced ECU's quarterback Patrick Pinkney to fumble on its first possession in overtime. Willie Young recovered the fumble, and two plays later Brown hurdled over an ECU defender and rumbled to the 10-yard line. He crossed the goal line on the next play, sending the Wolfpack fans home happy with the victory.

"For the defense to go out and play and get us a turnover in overtime, I didn't want to rely on the kicking game," Brown said. "I just wanted to go ahead and put this boy in the end zone."

N.C. State's redshirt freshman quarterback Russell Wilson drove his team down the field for the game-tying score with 1:12 remaining in the game. Wilson, who threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns, completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to George Bryan, tying the score at 24.

"As the game goes on you get comfortable, and you get a feel of all the other players ... you get to know the speed of the game," Wilson said. "I believe in myself and I definitely believe in my teammates."

Brown piled up 73 yards rushing on 12 carries, while also catching four passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.

Brown's good friend and former Hargrave Military Academy roommate Jamar Bryant had five receptions for 46 yard for the No. 15 Pirates. Numerous players on East Carolina and N.C. State were teammates in high school.

N.C. State's offensive tackle Julian Williams and ECU's Davon Drew, Chris Mattocks and Darryl Reynolds were all teammates at New Bern High School.

The Pirates' defense struck first in the game, when Van Eskridge intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown.

Wilson answered with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brown, knotting the score at 7 with 14:53 remaining in the first half.

Five minutes later, Drew hauled in a pass from Pinkney and dashed 39 yards for a score.

N.C. State had a chance to tie the game before halftime, but backup quarterback Harrison Beck fumbled, and West Craven grad Pierre Bell recovered for ECU.

On the first possession of the second half, Wilson connected with Jarvis Williams for a 20-yard scoring striking, evening the score at 14.

"Russell did a good job," said Jarvis Williams, who grabbed three catches for 49 yards. "He was getting out of the pocket, he was looking down the field, making plays with his feet and his arm. He was using all his tools and his weapons, and we made sure we capitalized on them."

On the ensuing Pirates' possession, sophomore Norman Whitley busted through the line for a 42-yard touchdown run.

N.C. State added a 41-yard field goal Josh Czajkowski. The Wolfpack defense then held the Pirates scoreless despite three plays on the N.C. State 1-yard line.

"It definitely excited us," Wilson said. "We knew (defense) really wanted us to win that game. They were going to put their hearts out there and give it everything they had and we were going to do the same."

The Wolfpack were forced to punt and ECU capitalized with a Ben Hartman 21-yard field goal with 4:21 left in the game. At that point, the Pirates owned a 24-17 lead.

Sophomore running back Norman Whitley tallied 83 yards on nine carries, while wide receiver Dwayne Harris had 10 catches for 88 yards.

Pinkney completed 19-of-32 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown.

Despite forcing two turnovers, ECU's defense allowed N.C. State to produce 384 yards of total offense.

"We had our chances to win on defense," Eskridge said. "They made the plays when they had to, and we didn't."

The Pirates will return to Dowdy-Ficklin on Saturday to host Houston.

"We still got work to do," Eskridge said. "We haven't won a conference championship or any of the other goals we've set for ourselves. The season isn't over."

Adam Thompson can be reached at (252) 635-5670 or at athompson@freedomenc.com.