North Carolina State 23, Richmond 21: Niklas Sade kicked a 48-yard field goal with 33 seconds left to lift the Wolfpack over the pesky visiting Spiders.

Pete Thomas completed 24-of-31 passes for 237 yards in his first start and Bryant Shirreffs rushed for a touchdown and passed for another for North Carolina State (2-0). Thomas completed four passes on the decisive drive, setting up Sade for his second field goal of longer than 45 yards in the contest.

Michael Strauss went 29-for-45 for 300 yards and a pair of touchdown passes for Richmond (1-1) but had a 55-yard Hail Mary attempt batted away in the final seconds. Stephen Barnette caught five passes for 94 yards and a touchdown for the Spiders.

Shirreffs came in to run the wildcat package at quarterback and broke for a 28-yard touchdown run to give the Wolfpack a 10-7 lead early, but Strauss fired off a 14-yard scoring pass and Jacobi Green rushed for a score to help Richmond take a 21-13 lead into the half.

A series of fumbles from both sides marred the third quarter, but Shirreffs managed to turn one into a score with a 7-yard pass to draw North Carolina State within 21-20. The Wolfpack had a chance to grab the lead back with 6:16 left in the third, but Shirreffs fumbled on the Richmond 5-yard line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thomas was making the start in place of Brandon Mitchell, who was hurt in Week 1 and will be out 4-to-6 weeks. Thomas, who lost a close camp battle to Mitchell, was also second on the team with 47 yards rushing on nine carries. Tony Creecy led the way with 56 yards on the ground. … Sade is 7-for-7 on field-goal attempts through two games, including 3-of-3 from longer than 40 yards. … Richmond was attempting to knock off an ACC team for the second time in three years after beating Duke 23-21 in the 2011 season opener.