The NC State Wolfpack looked finished against rival North Carolina on Friday night, but pulled off one of the most stunning comebacks of the season.
The Wolfpack found themselves down 30-21 with 1:35 to go, facing second and 18 from their own 36. That was where the comeback began, as quarterback Devin Leary found receiver Emeka Emezie for a 64-yard strike that made it 30-28.
That play was already unlikely, but the Wolfpack still needed to recover an onside kick to give themselves any real hope of a comeback. They managed it perfectly.
From there, NC State needed just three plays to score again, aided by two key North Carolina penalties. Despite being close to field-goal range, Leary linked up with Emezie again, this time for 24 yards, to give the Wolfpack the lead. The official ledger showed that they scored 13 points in the span of 30 seconds on the game clock.
NC State held on the final drive in a wacky finish that saw North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell intercepted on an untimed down from the Wolfpack 30 to end the game.
The win probability graph laid out just how ridiculous this comeback was.
The win clinched a nine-win season for NC State, and sent the Tar Heels limping to 6-6. Mack Brown was clearly right in his early season assessment of his team.
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