James Madison didn’t make life easy on NC State, not by any stretch, even after falling down 10 points at halftime. It took a clutch, late fourth-quarter touchdown drive by the Wolfpack to seal a 24-13 win over the Dukes.
JMU struck first, turning an NC State fumble into seven points, but NC State rallied for 17 unanswered in the second quarter. Ryan Finley hit Thayer Thomas and C.J. Riley for touchdown scores in that period, and the latter was a big one, turns out.
The jump ball grab by Riley near the end of the second quarter secured a 10-point lead going into the break, and with the Pack receiving to begin the third quarter, it appeared that State was ready to assert full control of the game.