College Sports

Leary, No. 18 NC State beat Charleston Southern 55-3

Posted September 10, 2022 7:00 am

By AARON BEARD

North Carolina State's Anthony Smith (85) congratulates Jordan Houston (3) on his touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against the Charleston Southern in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C (AP) - Devin Leary tied a program record by accounting for six touchdowns and No. 18 North Carolina State's defense surrendered 150 total yards as the Wolfpack beat Charleston Southern 55-3 in Saturday's home debut.

Leary threw four TD passes, including a perfect 24-yard wheel route to Jordan Houston down the left side and then a 40-yard strike over the middle to Anthony Smith after he shrugged blitzer Nick Perry off his back. Leary's two rushing scores included a 12-yard keeper in the first quarter, when the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year bounced off three hard hits before hitting the end zone for the game's first TD.

Celebrating his 23rd birthday, Leary wrapped up his day by hitting Chris Toudle for a 27-yard TD down the middle and a 45-0 lead with 12:48 left in the third.

The game offered N.C. State (2-0) a chance to regroup from last week's 21-20 win at East Carolina, with the Wolfpack carrying a No. 13 ranking in the AP Top 25 to Greenville and taking the victory when the Pirates missed two critical late kicks. That game was full of problems after halftime, including coming up scoreless on two drives with a combined six goal-line snaps as well as sputtering to 25 fourth-quarter yards.

That made recent days, along with kickoff against the Buccaneers (0-2) of the Championship Subdivision, a chance to clean up mistakes.

'œIt's nice to have a low-stress day,'ť Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. 'œProud of our guys, I thought we got a lot better in a lot of areas.'ť

Charleston Southern's top highlight was a 48-yard field goal from Sam Babbush midway through the third quarter to break up the Wolfpack's shutout bid. Ross Malmgren threw for 111 yards but found himself under repeated pressure. Charleston Southern managed 36 yards rushing on 15 carries to remain winless all-time against Bowl Subdivision teams.

'œWhat I feel we should've done a better job, what we wanted to do a better job of was just competing," Charleston Southern coach Autry Denson said. 'œYou know when you play a game like this that you have to play perfect, and that's just to give yourself a chance because from a personnel standpoint, you just don't match up. We just didn't do that.'ť

THE TAKEAWAY

Charleston Southern: The Buccaneers opened the season by surrendering 52 points at home against Western Carolina. And the Big South Conference program entered this one with an 0-25 mark against Bowl Subdivision opponents, including 0-15 against teams from the Power Five conferences. They never threatened to change that Saturday, either.

N.C. State: The storylines focused on improvements the Wolfpack could make after the ECU escape, not whether Doeren's squad would beat a lower-division opponent. Leary and his teammates largely showed that, with the offense cracking the 40-point mark on its first snap after halftime and the defensive front generally overwhelming the Bucs.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The close call at ECU cost the Wolfpack five spots in the AP Top 25 poll. This is unlikely to have a notable impact.

UP NEXT

Charleston Southern: The Buccaneers visit Eastern Kentucky next Saturday.

N.C. State: Texas Tech visits the Wolfpack next Saturday in an ACC-Big 12 matchup.

Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

North Carolina State's Devin Leary (13) stretches for a touchdown in the grasp of Charleston Southern's Nick Perry (55) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

North Carolina State's Devin Leary (13) tries to break away from Charleston Southern's Nick Perry (55) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

North Carolina State's Delbert Mimms III (34) drags Charleston Southern's Quintin Seguin (3) into the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

North Carolina State's Delbert Mimms III (34) celebrates his touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against the Charleston Southern in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

North Carolina State's Jordan Houston (3) stiff arms Charleston Southern's Garrett Sayegh (40) on his way to a long gain during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

Charleston Southern's Ross Malmgren (5) looks to throw the ball against the North Carolina State during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

Charleston Southern's Vinson Davis (11) is tied up by North Carolina State's Cyrus Fagan (4), Drake Thomas (32) and Tyler Baker-Williams (13) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) The Associated Press

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