RALEIGH, N.C. - Running back Davon Jones threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Sweeney with 4:43 left, and Boston College earned its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory since 2014 by beating North Carolina State 21-14 on Saturday.
Patrick Towles was 18 of 33 for 204 yards to help the Eagles (4-4, 1-4) snap a 12-game league losing streak and earn their first conference victory since they beat Syracuse 23 months ago.
What's statistically the worst offense in the ACC outgained N.C. State 386-338, held a 168-31 advantage in yards rushing and used some trickery to take the lead for good.
Towles took a shotgun snap and handed off to Jones, who headed toward the right side before stopping and tossing to Sweeney. Towles then hit Sweeney for the 2-point conversion that made it a seven-point game.
Ryan Finley had a career-best 307 yards passing with two touchdowns - a 79-yard catch-and-run to Bra'Lon Cherry, and a 23-yard score to Kelvin Harmon - but threw two interceptions for N.C. State (4-4, 1-3).
The Wolfpack had a first-and-goal at the BC 2 before Finley's pass to Stephen Louis in the end zone was picked off by Kamrin Moore with 1:35 to play.
The teams used big plays to trade the lead during the second quarter. N.C. State went up 7-3 on Cherry's long catch-and-run before BC countered with Jeff Smith's 60-yard touchdown run on a receiver sweep to put the Eagles back up by three.
THE TAKEAWAY
Boston College: The streak is over. The Eagles kept finding ways to lose conference games, following up last year's 0-for-the-ACC with four league losses this year - two by blowout, two much closer. This was unquestionably a step forward for a program trying to claw back to relevance in a top-heavy division.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack couldn't get anything going on the ground, finishing with 31 yards rushing a week after setting a season low with 14 yards on the ground against No. 5 Louisville. N.C. State didn't crack positive rushing yards in this one until there were about 6 minutes left in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Boston College: Plays host to No. 5 Louisville on Saturday.
N.C. State: Gets its last chance to knock off a ranked Atlantic Division opponent Saturday when No. 12 Florida State visits.
© 2016 by Associated Press and STATS.