Commodores jump on Wolfpack’s turnovers

NASHVILLE, TENN. — The North Carolina State Wolfpack struggled away from home this season, and nothing changed on a neutral site in Music City.

Mike Glennon was intercepted three times, and the Wolfpack also had two fumbles Monday in losing the Music City Bowl to Vanderbilt 38-24.

“We hurt ourselves and when you play against a team like Vanderbilt, you can’t do that,” N.C. State interim head coach Dana Bible said. “Nobody wanted to do that. Nobody was remiss in that area, but we practiced hard through December to make sure ball security was right at the top. But obviously we didn’t get that done.”

The Wolfpack (7-6) came into the bowl with 28 turnovers this season, and they wound up with at least four for a fifth game. That snapped N.C. State’s bowl winning streak at two since dropping the Papajohns.com Bowl to Rutgers on Dec. 29, 2008.

Glennon finished his final game 35 of 53 for 383 yards and helped the Wolfpack outgain Vanderbilt 424-225 in total offense — but he was also sacked three times. Bible, who filled in after Tom O’Brien was fired at the end of the regular season, took blame for two of Glennon’s interceptions and said he was trying to be aggressive against a Southeastern Conference team.

“We weren’t going to play it safe,” Bible said. “We weren’t going to play back on this team. We were going to be attacking on it, and if they made a play on it more power to them.”

Now that the season is over, Dave Doeren, who’s been working on the same fourth floor as the rest of O’Brien’s staff, can take over fully. Bible said he hadn’t thought of his future, dedicating himself to trying to be both offensive coordinator and head coach for the Wolfpack for this bowl.

“So we’ll see what happens,” Bible said. “I’ll have time to sit down and think about that and see what the future holds.”

A sign that this wasn’t the Wolfpack’s day came on the opening drive, when a third-down snap in the shotgun went a couple feet over the head of the 6-foot-6 Glennon. It could have been worse because the Commodores (9-4) scored only 17 points off the turnovers.

Vanderbilt threw the ball only 27 times with even running back Zac Stacy attempting one.