N.C. State spring game: Secondary looks shaky, but seals win

On a sometimes shaky day for the N.C. State secondary, the first-team defense helped close out a 31-21 win for the Red on Saturday in the Kay Yow Spring Game at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Safety Brandan Bishop had a key pass break-up on a deep throw to Jarvis Williams as quarterback Mike Glennon and the White (first-team offense) turned the ball over on downs.

A 21-yard scoring pass from Daniel Imhoff to T.J. Graham on fourth-and-4 with 1 minute, 9 seconds remaining clinched the win for the Red, which took a 24-21 lead on a 48-yard field goal by Josh Czajkowski with 1:55 remaining.

Walk-on Travis Leggett rushed for 129 yards to lead the Red.

Earlier. . .

Josh Czajkowski's 48-yard field goal with 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining gave the Red team a 24-21 lead over the White on Saturday afternoon in the N.C. State spring game.

It was Czajkowski's first field goal attempt of the day. He drove a low kick hard through the uprights.

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Owen Spencer has struck again for the White team to tie the score of N.C. State's spring game at 21-21 on Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium with 3:08 remaining in the third quarter.

Spencer caught a deep pass from Mike Glennon, squirmed away from a would-be tackler and took off for a 93-yard scoring play. In the second quarter, a 44-yard Spencer touchdown catch cut the Red's lead to 21-14.

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Wide receiver Jay Smith was the big statistical leader in the first half of N.C. State's spring game with three catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns for the Red team, which led the White 21-14 at halftime at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Walk-on Travis Leggett ran for 81 yards on 11 carries for the Red to lead all rushers, and George Bryan caught four passes for 55 yards and a score for the White team. Quarterback Mike Glennon completed 15 of 26 passes for 243 yards with an interception and two touchdowns.

Incidentally, there's been some movement on the depth chart, particularly among linemen, this spring.

Junior college transfer Mikel Overgaard was with the starting group at right offensive tackle.

On defense, Northeastern transfer David Akinniyi, sophomore Brian Slay, and 2009 redshirt Markus Kuhn all started with the first team up front.

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Fans who have watched N.C. State wide receiver Owen Spencer know that he can be feast or famine in the Wolfpack passing game.

A Spencer drop of a Mike Glennon pass proved costly to one second-quarter drive as the White team was forced to punt in the spring game. But on the next drive, Spencer got open on a deep route and hauled in a 44-yard touchdown pass from Glennon.

The score cut the Red team's lead to 21-14 with 3 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first half. It also ended a long period of satisfactory play by the first-team defense, which gave up a touchdown on the White team's opening drive but shut out the White for 21 minutes until Spencer's catch.

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If N.C. State's beleaguered secondary got any better during spring practice, it sure isn't showing it in the spring game.

Tight end Asa Watson broke behind the second-team defense on an out-and-up route for an 86-yard touchdown pass and a 21-7 Red team lead Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Red team has scoring passes of 86, 27 and 49 yards, and N.C. State's quarterbacks completed 14 of their first 15 passes.

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The wide receiver who had a disappointing start to last season is off to a huge start in N.C. State's spring game.

Jay Smith, whose fourth-quarter dropped pass in the end zone hurt the Wolfpack dearly in a season-opening loss to South Carolina last season, has two long first-quarter touchdown catches that have staked the Red team to a 14-7 lead in the spring game.

Smith caught a 49-yard pass from fellow wideout T.J. Graham to tie the score at 7-7. Then, on a third-and-long, Smith got behind the defense for a 27-yard touchdown catch to give the Red team the lead.

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A bit of razzle dazzle from the White team at N.C. State's spring game tied the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.

Wide receiver T.J. Graham passed 49 yards on a double pass to fellow wideout Jay Smith for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:48 remaining in the quarter.

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Quarterback Mike Glennon was on target on the first drive of N.C. State's spring game on Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The game is structured so that the White team consists of the first-team offense and the second-team defense, while the Red is the No. 2 offense and the No. 1 defense. Glennon's hot start got the White off to a 7-0 lead.

Glennon completed 5-of-6 passes for 73 yards on the opening drive, including a 6-yard scoring strike to George Bryan.

-- Ken Tysiac