Raleigh, N.C. ? Greg Golden returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown and Manny Lawson’s blocked punt led to another score as North Carolina State beat Texas Tech 49-21 despite allowing 681 yards Saturday.
The Wolfpack (2-2) didn’t suffer a mental letdown following a triple-overtime loss at Ohio State last week and a fall from the polls, bolting to a 21-0 halftime lead.
N.C. State blew a 28-point lead at Texas Tech (2-1) last season and eventually won 51-48 in overtime.
There was no comeback this time as the Red Raiders wasted a school-record 586-yard passing day by B.J. Symons with a bevy of errors.
Kliff Kingsbury threw for 510 yards last season against Missouri.
T.A. McLendon, who saw limited action against the Buckeyes because of a sore knee, returned to make a major difference. The sophomore ran for 115 yards and caught four passes before leaving with a hamstring injury after a long run early in the third quarter.
Philip Rivers reinjured his sore left shoulder 7 1/2 minutes in when he was sacked, but didn’t miss a play and finished 18-for-22 for 257 yards and one TD. After four games, Rivers has completed 118 of 153 for 1,325 yards.
McLendon’s 67-yard run a minute into the second half set up a 1-yard dive by Josh Brown and a four-TD lead for the Wolfpack.
The Red Raiders closed to 28-7 and were driving again after Golden fumbled the ensuing kickoff. But Symons fumbled it back at the N.C. State 11 with 9:16 left in the quarter and Brown scored on another short run 6 minutes later to help seal it.
Symons threw for 322 yards in the first half and Texas Tech was in N.C. State territory on six of seven possessions, but came away with no points.
Two major mistakes got the Red Raiders in a hole, and then some questionable coaching decisions added to a bizarre opening 30 minutes.
Wes Welker’s fumbled punt near midfield led to McLendon’s 29-yard scoring run in which he broke five tackles en route to the end zone.
A little more than a minute later, Symons’ pass was intercepted by Golden, who raced down the right sideline untouched for a 14-0 Wolfpack lead.
Texas Tech then drove to the N.C. State 22, 8, 20 and 25 and came away empty.
Twice the Red Raiders failed on fourth-down attempts, a fake field goal was botched and a 42-yarder was missed as the half expired. Texas Tech was also called for seven first-half penalties.
Richard Washington recovered Lawson’s fourth block of his career in the end zone 5:23 before the half as the Wolfpack went up by 21.
