Sept. 4, 2010

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Post-Game Notes North Carolina State
Western Carolina Carter-Finley Stadium - Raleigh, N.C.
Sat., Sept. 4, 2010

With the loss ...
- Western Carolina remains winless against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), falling to 0-26 all-time;
- The Catamounts were also relegated to 0-6 all-time against North Carolina State with six marking the most games played against an ACC foe;

- WCU dropped its second-straight season opener and fell to 13-22 in season-openers since joining the Southern Conference in 1976 which includes a 4-21 record in openers played on the road.

Post-Game Notes:
- Western Carolina's season-opening drive went 87 yards in 10 plays and consumed 5:24 seconds - resulted in a 23-yard TD pass from Zack Jaynes to Deja Alexander;

- Jaynes' first-quarter touchdown pass to Alexander represented his 20th career scoring pass to tie him for seventh all-time in the WCU record books ... He is tied with Jimmy Williams (1964-66);

- WCU's touchdown on the open drive represented the first points against a NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team in the past two years (shutout at Vanderbilt in 2009 and at Florida State in 2008) ... it was the first touchdown against an FBS team since scoring 19 points against Georgia in 2007;

- Western Carolina's 7-0 lead over North Carolina State was the program's first lead over a FBS team since Josh Jones gave the Catamounts a 3-0 lead at Maryland in 1999 ... WCU fell, 51-10, in the contest;

- Western Carolina's defensive line started four players by the name of Johnson - Brian Johnson at rush end, Charles Johnson at tackle, Roland Johnson at nose guard and C.J. Johnson at buck end;

- Zack Jaynes started the game a perfect 3-for-3 on the opening drive but finished just 1-for-7 to close the game before giving way to both Zac Brindise and Matt Wabby;

- Junior transfer quarterback Zac Brindise made his Western Carolina debut at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter ... His first pass attempt, out of his own end zone, was deflected at the line of scrimmage on just his second play under center ... Completed his first pass at WCU at the 43-second mark of the third quarter, an 11-yard completion to tight end Chris Everett ... it was also WCU's first, first down of the second half;

- Sophomore line backer Rock Williams recorded both a career and game-high 11 tackles including eight solo in the loss at North Carolina State on Saturday night; - Senior quarterback Matt Wabby made his WCU debut on the offense's final drive at the 1:46 mark of the fourth quarter ... He completed his first two passes as a Catamount, finishing 2-for-2;

- Sophomore Michael Johnson rushed for a game-high 77 yards against North Carolina State - the total was his fourth-best career rushing yardage.

Miscellaneous Notes:
Team captains for Saturday evening's game: #12 Zack Jaynes; #20 Nate Harris; #58 Zak Warner; #93 Charles Johnson ... N.C. State won the toss and elected to defer; Western Carolina received the opening kickoff defending the south endzone.