Key play breakdown: The blocked punt that did in the Wolfpack

An inside look at how the most important play of State's loss at West Virginia unfolded

The game was still up for grabs with NC State down only 24-21 when the Wolfpack lined up to punt after a three-and-out midway through the third quarter. It should have been a routine play, with West Virginia setting up for a return.

"We didn't have a block called," Mountaineers coach Neal Brown said afterward. "But we always try to put pressure on the shield. We always have multiple people attacking the shield and he comes free."

The reason Logan Thimons came so free to make the block that sent State on its way to a 44-27 loss is because nobody on the Wolfpack bothered to block him, a costly breakdown that gave the West Virginia fullback a clear path to punter Trenton Gill. 

Here's how it happened:

The Mountaineeers have loaded up the boundary side of the field, leaving two players uncovered by linemen, making it incumbent on the three "shield players" (Payton Wilson, Thomas Ruocchio and Seth Williams, from left to right) to pick up their men.

Williams, a redshirt freshman linebacker, sees West Virginia's Jake Abbott (on the Big 12 logo) and prepares to pick him up. But the middle man in the Wolfpack's shield, Ruocchio, is slow recognizing his man Thimons (in full sprint on the 24-yard-line hashmark).

Ruocchio, a reserve tight end, eventually sees Thimons and tries to recover, but by then it's too late. Thimons is already past him and is preparing to disrupt Gill's kick.

Thimons gets to the punter so quickly that Gill kicks the ball right into his chest, setting the Mountaineers up at the Wolfpack 12. Three plays later, they scored a touchdown, making it a two-score game for the first time and State never recovered.