By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Western Carolina Catamounts	21
24NC State Wolfpack	38
Final

Raleigh, N.C. — In a season with so much promise — or, at least, potential promise — for No. 24 NC State, the opener against Western Carolina loomed as nothing more than a warm-up, a speed bump en route to grander things.

For three quarters Thursday night, the Catamounts — near five-touchdown underdogs — presented a much bigger problem for NC State. They were a roadblock, an impediment that needed to be dealt with much more than rolled over.

“We were expecting a blowout,” said NC State star receiver KC Concepcion. “But every single game is not going to be a blowout. We saw things that we had to work on. We saw things that we can fix. We also saw some things that were going good.”

The Wolfpack scored 21 unanswered in the fourth quarter to earn the 38-21 victory at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Frayed nerves aside, there was no lasting damage done to NC State or its hopes for the rest of the 2024 season. The big tests remain, beginning next week against Tennessee in Charlotte.

Among the things that need work: Quarterback Grayson McCall, who threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns, missed open receivers and had a costly first-quarter interception; the run game struggled for almost all of the evening and was stuffed twice on fourth-and-short, though its overall numbers were inflated by a late 50-yard run from Duke transfer Jordan Waters; and a defense that just allowed a bit too much of, well, everything.

“I’m not going to apologize for winning,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said after dispatching the Catamounts, ranked No. 19 in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Nor does he need to.

Nothing appeared unfixable.

And there was plenty to like as well.

Concepcion, last season’s ACC rookie of the year, showed he might just be getting started, hauling in nine catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns. Waters, having been bottled up most of the evening, showed his power in ramming his way to a 5-yard score and then showcased his speed with the 50-yarder to cap the win. Concepcion may well be the team’s most dynamic playmaker, but the Wolfpack has depth among its rushers and pass catchers, including transfer tight end Justin Joly (five catches, 75 yards).

“Seeing how being down in a game, being up in a game, whatever it might be, how they’re going to respond,” Doeren said. “I thought we learned a lot as the game went on and guys grew.”

The tests get bigger from here. The road tougher.

Said defensive end Davin Vann: “We got to attack every quarter with the fourth-quarter mentality the way we did.”

Scoring summary

First quarter

WCU: Jake Young 8 pass from Cole Gonzales (Christian Lowery kick), 5:55. Drive: 1 play, 8 yards, 0:08. Western Carolina 7, NC State 0.

NCSU: Kevin Concepcion 17 pass from Grayson McCall (Kanoah Vinesett kick), 2:39. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:16. NC State 7, Western Carolina 7.

WCU: AJ Colombo 12 pass from Gonzales (Lowery kick), 0:05. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:34. Western Carolina 14, NC State 7.

Second quarter

NCSU: Concepcion 5 pass fro McCall (Vinesett kick), 12:03. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:02. NC State 14, Western Carolina 14.

Third quarter

NCSU: Vinesett 46 field goal, 8:00. Drive: 14 plays, 39 yards, 6:52. NC State 17, Western Carolina 14.

WCU: Branson Adams 17 run (Lowery kick), 4:36. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:24. Western Carolina 21, NC State 17.

Fourth quarter

NCSU: Concepcion 35 pass from McCall (Vinesett kick), 14:45. Drive: 5 plays, 51 yards, 0:47. NC State 24, Western Carolina 21.

NCSU: Jordan Waters 7 rush (Vinesett kick), 6:33. Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 5:31. NC State 31, Western Carolina 21.

NCSU: Jordan Waters 50 rush (Vinesett kick), 1:50. Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:28. NC State 38, Western Carolina 21.

Source: wralsportsfan.com