ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 26, 2014) – Junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett and the NC State Wolfpack made certain that the ACC’s first appearance in the St. Petersburg Bowl was a victorious one.Named NC State’s game MVP, Brissett completed 15-of-26 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown and Matt Dayes added a pair of rushing scores to lead the Wolfpack (8-5) to a 34-27 win over American Athletic Conference co-champion UCF (9-4) Friday night at Tropicana Field in the seventh annual St. Petersburg event.NC State controlled much of the game and extended its lead to 34-13 on Niklas Sade’s second field goal of the night with 12:37 left in the fourth quarter.  UCF, though, kept things interesting with the second and third scoring receptions by the Knights’ game MVP Josh Reese to cut the margin to 34-27 with 1:44 remaining.

The Wolfpack then pounced on an onside kick and ran out the clock to secure the win.

Second-year Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren was very impressed with the effort of his team, considered by many to be one of the youngest in the nation.

“I want to say thank you to the players,” Doeren said. “They played their butts off. The rest of our coaches did a great job and the players made it all possible. I’m really proud of all our players.”

Doeren praised the growth and play of his quarterback Brissett.

“He takes things so personal,” Doeren added. “He is such a competitor. He gives all the credit to his teammates. He learned a lot throughout this season, and we love him.”

Brissett’s comments after the game were an example of what Doeren alluded to.

“I was just grateful for the chance they gave me to become the starting quarterback of this team,” Brissett said after receiving his MVP trophy. “It was truly a dream come true.”

“From last season to this season, we went in with the mindset to attack the season,” Brissett added. “I want to give credit to our coaches and the rest of my teammates. We all play as one.”

The game was close throughout the first half as the lead changed hands three times before NC State headed to the locker room at intermission with a 17-10 lead.

UCF opened the scoring with a 40-yard field goal from Shawn Moffitt but NC State answered quickly with the game’s first touchdown on an option pass by running back Shadrach Thornton to Jaylen Samuels.

Reese notched his first scoring reception — a six-yarder from Justin Holman — early in the second quarter to put UCF back in front at 10-7.  NC State then took the lead for good when Brissett connected with Johnathan Alston from 37 yards out.  The Wolfpack added Sade’s first field goal at the three-minute mark to push the margin to 17-10.

Dayes, who finished with 78 yards on 13 carries, scored his two rushing touchdowns in a third period that saw NC State outscore the Knights, 14-3, and push the lead to 31-13.

Thornton narrowly missed the 100-yard rushing mark as he led all ball carriers in the game with 96 yards on 17 attempts.

Holman finished the night completing 23-of-51 passes for 291 yards and the three scoring tosses to Reese. The 291 yards were just three shy of the St. Petersburg Bowl record.