Devin Leary threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in a solid first half in North Carolina State’s 45-7 victory against visiting Furman on Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Running back Zonovan Knight rushed for 104 yards on 11 first-half carries with one touchdown as the Wolfpack (2-1) bounced back after a rough loss a week earlier at Mississippi State.
NC State cranked out a 505-196 advantage in total yards in tuning up for next week’s visit from reigning the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, No. 6 Clemson.
Leary was 23-for-29 for 259 yards.
Furman (2-1), which entered the game with its first 2-0 record since 2014, trailed 38-0 at halftime. Quarterback Hamp Sisson was 8-for-19 for 86 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller late in the third quarter.
Knight’s 1-yard run opened the scoring on the Wolfpack’s second possession. He racked up 56 yards on the ground on the drive.
Christopher Dunn’s 32-yard field goal later in the first quarter made it 10-0, and NC State’s next five touchdown drives all lasted less than three minutes.
Leary threw 4 yards to Dylan Parham, who made a diving catch in the back of the end zone, for the first points of the second quarter.
Leary ran 7 yards for the next touchdown. His 42-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Smith and 12-yard strike to Thayer Thomas rounded out the Wolfpack’s 28-point second quarter.
Ricky Person Jr. had a 1-yard touchdown run with 10:53 left in the third quarter.
Four NC State players caught at least three passes, led by Thomas with five catches for 82 yards.
The Paladins were held to 49 yards of total offense in the first half, when they were 0-for-7 on third-down conversions.
Furman is ranked No. 25 in the Football Championship Subdivision coaches’ poll. The Paladins have lost six consecutive meetings against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, including a 2017 blowout loss to NC State.
–Field Level Media