East Carolina 26-21 NC State (December 28, 2024) Game Recap

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Rahjai Harris broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run with 1:33 left to give East Carolina a thrilling 26-21 victory over NC State in the Military Bowl in a game that turned into a wild brawl the last minute.

Harris ran for 220 of ECU’s 326 yards, and his sensational late-game sprint gave the Pirates (8-5) the lead back after blowing a 13-point lead in the fourth. But after a Dontavius ​​Nash interception ended NC State’s final drive, East Carolina’s attempt to run out the clock was interrupted by a full-scale battle between the two in-state rivals – who will face off again early next season.

Three players for ECU and five for NC State were excluded.

Trailing 21-20, ECU (8-5) took over the ball at its own 14, and after two incompletions, the Pirates decided to run the ball with Harris. He had a good hole to the left for a big lead and then came back past the last defender on his way to the end zone.

CJ Bailey threw three touchdown passes for the Wolfpack (6-7), which rallied from a 20-7 deficit in the fourth. Bailey threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Justin Joly on fourth down, then NC State forced ECU’s first punt of the game and took the lead on a trick play.

Bailey passed the ball to the Hollywood Smothers, then the Smothers threw the ball to Keenan Jackson, who threw the ball back to Bailey. NC State’s quarterback quickly threw the ball to Smothers, who had plenty of blockers in front of him and went all the way to the end zone for a 33-yard TD and a 21-20 lead.

That wasn’t enough as the ACC had an uneventful day. ACC teams are 1-9 in postseason bowls and playoff games this year after losing four more on Saturday. North Carolina (Fenway), Boston College (Pinstripe), Miami (Pop Tarts) and NC State (Military) all lost.

Louisville, Duke and Virginia Tech still have league games scheduled in the coming days.

ECU quarterback Katin Houser opened the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown run. After an East Carolina field goal, Bailey got the Wolfpack on the field in the second quarter with an 8-yard scoring pass to Dacari Collins.

The Pirates led 13-7 at halftime and then scored a touchdown early in the third quarter. After Houser’s 4-yard TD run, ECU went within 2, but had to kick the extra point after a delay of game.

Takeaways

NC State: The Wolfpack put up a good fight in the final quarter, but ultimately NC State’s defense didn’t do enough on the day.

East Carolina: The Pirates have a lot to feel good about. They won five of their last six games after coach Mike Houston was fired. His replacement, Blake Harrell, was rewarded with the removal of his interim title, and this game showed why.

Next

NC State can look forward to the future a little brighter after Bailey, a 6-foot-2 freshman, handled this game. The same goes for East Carolina with its new coach.

However, the brawl means both coaches have a lot of work to do to keep their players under control when they meet again in the 2025 opener.

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