Former UVA QB has huge game to lead Wolfpack by the Hokies
BLACKSBURG — When Brennan Armstrong got his starting job at North Carolina State last week, it meant he would have one more chance to take on an old nemesis from his pre-portal life.
On Saturday at Lane Stadium, the former Virginia quarterback made the most of his opportunity.
Armstrong, who had gone 0-2 against Virginia Tech with the Cavaliers, had one of the most dominating days as a ball-carrier, leading the Wolfpack to a 35-28 win over the Hokies, who must wait one more week to see if they can achieve bowl eligibility.
Armstrong rushed for 89 yards on two touchdowns on 21 carries and completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 203 yards and two more scores.
Virginia Tech (5-6, 4-3 ACC) gave itself a chance in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns in the last 7 minutes of the game, but N.C. State’s defense slowed the rally with an interception, and then the Wolfpack’s special teams recovered an onside kick with 1:40 left to play to clinch the victory.
“This obviously wasn’t the result we wanted, “Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry said. “We didn’t play well enough in the first half, particularly on defense.”
And now it will take a Virginia Tech road victory against Armstrong’s former school — next Saturday at UVA — if the
Hokies hope to get in line for a bowl bid.
Armstrong, who in his sixth year of college football, teamed up with one of his youngest teammates — true freshman KC Concepcion — to form a one-two offensive punch that had the Hokies staggering by halftime. Concepcion caught seven passes for 63 yards, rushed for 44 yards and threw for a 17-yard score. Pry said that combination proved to be too much.
“We knew (Armstrong) would have rushing yards, but we certainly didn’t expect him to have that much,” Pry said. “That was a big part of their offense, but
I was more impressed by the way he threw the ball. It kept us off balance more than anything.”
The Wolfpack (8-3, 5-2) took control of the game with three second-quarter touchdowns.
N.C. State scored its first touchdown when Armstrong hit Concepcion for a 3-yard TD pass with 12:04 to play in the first half. The Wolfpack made it 14-0 with 4:46 to play when Armstrong scored on a 1-yard run.
Later in the quarter, after Virginia Tech scored for the first time, Armstrong led the Wolfpack on a 75-yard, 11-play drive that wrapped up with a TD throw to Concepcion with 18 seconds to play in the second quarter.
The offensive attack continued for N.C. State in the third quarter when Armstrong finished off another 75-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run to make the score 28-7.
The only touchdown Armstrong did not throw or run for was the Wolfpack’s fifth. Concepcion, who leads the Wolfpack in receptions, threw a 17-yard TD pass Trent Pennix.
Virginia Tech (5-6, 4-3) managed to keep things respectable on the scoreboard only because of a pair of quick-strike touchdown drives in the midst of N.C. State’s offensive prowess,
After the Wolfpack made the score 14-0, the Hokies followed a 50-yard kickoff return by Bhayshul Tuten with a 47-yard TD run by Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw on a reverse — the first for the redshirt freshman’s career. That made the score 14-7.