Points pile up rapidly, No. 25 N.C. State tops Syracuse

RALEIGH, N.C. -- , North Carolina State just needed to make sure it took care of business to give itself a chance to be in the mix for a conference championship. The No. 25 Wolfpack found several ways to do that as Devin Leary threw for two touchdowns, Zonovan Knight returned a kickoff for a touchdown and N.C. State beat Syracuse 41-17 on Saturday to keep its hopes alive for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship. After neither team scored in the first 22 minutes, the Wolfpack scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams in a matter of less than 3 1/2 minutes. It was all part of N.C. State’s 28-point burst in the last 6:14 of the first half. “It was great to see our defense score,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “It was great to see our special teams score. There was a lot of complementary football there.