POSTGAME NOTES: NC State 41, App State 31
App State suffered its first loss of the season and completed nonconference play with a 3-1 record.
The Mountaineers trailed 28-7 with 39 seconds left in the second quarter before going outscoring the Wolfpack 24-3 to tie the game at 31-31 midway through the fourth quarter.
NC State improved its all-time record against App State to 7-0 (all in Raleigh). The teams are slated to square off in Boone for the first time in 2028.
Nine of the Mountaineers' last 10 contests against Power 4 opponents have been decided by 10 points or less.
The loss snapped App State's five-game winning streak against in-state opponents dating back to 2022.
Freshman tight end Gavin Barber earned his first career start (and scored his first career touchdown).
OFFENSE
Malachi Singleton passed for two touchdowns and added another on the ground while nearly leading App State to a come-from-behind road win. His 3-yard rushing touchdown cut the early NC State lead to 21-7 before he engineered a 24-3 run to bring the score all the way to a 31-31 tie with 9:41 left in the game.
Singleton completed 26 of 38 passes for 317 yards, his second straight 300-yard passing effort.
Nate Branch established season highs with nine catches and 87 yards as Singleton's favorite target in Raleigh.
This season's leading receiver Sam Pickett III had another impactful performance with five catches for 97 yards, including a highlight-reel touchdown grab to pull the Mountaineers within one score early in the fourth quarter and a 54-yard reception that's the Mountaineers' longest passing connection this season.
Jaquari Lewis led the rushing attack with eight carries for 32 yards and his team-leading fourth rushing touchdown of the season. He added a pair of catches for 28 yards.
True freshman tight end Gavin Barber made the most of his first career start, hauling in a 9-yard game-tying touchdown from Singleton with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter.
DEFENSE
The App State defense forced one turnover when Keaton Braddock pressured NC State quarterback CJ Bailey into an interception to D-lineman Aaron Clark that set up a short scoring drive early in the fourth quarter.
The Mountaineers nearly had two more turnovers, including a Colton Phares strip and runback that did not count as the runner was deemed down by forward progress and an Alex Mitchell forced fumble that hit an out-of-bounds player before being picked up by Mitchell for what at first appeared to be a change of possession. Mitchell led the Mountaineers with a season-high nine tackles.
Linebacker Carson Sloan had an impactful game with a season-high eight tackles, a sack, 2.0 TFLs and two pass breakups.
SPECIAL TEAMS
James London connected on a 48-yard field goal as time expired before halftime to cap a 39-second scoring drive and make the score 28-10. He missed a 42-yarder late in the fourth quarter. All four of his kickoffs deep went for touchbacks, while he pulled off a successful onside kick (recovered by Joe Reddish) after App State pulled to within 31-24 that set up a short field for the tying touchdown drive.
