If only William and Mary had taken better care of the ball in the first half, who knows how last night's game between the Tribe and N.C. State would have ended?

Three first-half turnovers -- two of which led to 14 points for the Wolfpack -- put the Tribe in a halftime hole, and they weren't able to climb out of it.

Even though W&M outscored the Wolfpack 24-20 after intermission, it wasn't enough, as the Tribe dropped its season opener 34-24 before 56,694 at Carter-Finley Stadium.

"Offensively, we made too many mistakes," W&M coach Jimmye Laycock said. "It was a combination of a lot of things. A lot of it had to do with it being the first game and trying to execute some things. Trying to do maybe a little more than we should have in certain situations.

"By and large, I'm not discouraged. I saw a lot of good things."

Despite trailing 14-0 at halftime, the Tribe actually outgained N.C. State 103-79 in the opening half.

"It was frustrating, but not overly so because of the way we were playing defensively," Laycock said. "We were playing with confidence. Taking it to them as opposed to waiting for them to take to us."

SECOND-HALF RALLY: W&M finally managed to score when it took the second-half kickoff and got close enough for Brian Pate to kick a 43-yard field goal.

After the Wolfpack made it 21-3, the Tribe quickly retaliated when quarterback Jake Phillips connected with wideout D.J. McAulay for a 30-yard score with 3:08 remaining in the third period.

Phillips was 15 of 30 for 139 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice.

"There were a lot of things in the game, where if they go a little different for us or a little different for them, the whole game swings," Phillips said.

A pair of field goals -- one after another W&M turnover -- and a 10-yard touchdown run by Curtis Underwood put N.C. State (1-1) ahead 34-10 before W&M scored the final 14 points.

Cornerback Derek Cox returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, and backup quarterback R.J. Archer found McAulay with a 25-yard scoring pass 20 seconds before the final horn.

Coming off knee surgery that sidelined him for all but one game last season, McAulay caught six passes for 99 yards.

"The best thing about it was playing the complete game and not getting hurt in the fourth quarter," said McAulay, who was injured in the opener last year.

GIVING IT AWAY: Both of N.C. State's first-half scores came after turnovers. An ill-advised pass attempt by Phillips deep in his own territory set up the first one.

On third and 7, Phillips tried to get off a pass with defenders in his face. The ball was tipped as it left his hand but was ruled a fumble, and State recovered at W&M's 6.

Two plays later, halfback Andre Brown went in from three yards, and the PAT made it 7-0 with 4:40 left in the opening period.

"I was trying to dump it down to a running back, and there were two guys in my face," Phillips said. "One of them tipped it and made a good play. It just shows their athletic ability."

The touchdown ended a scoreless drought of nine quarters by the Wolfpack, dating to last season.

An interception near midfield led to the second touchdown, a 22-yard pass from backup quarterback Harrison Beck to Jarvis Williams with 33 seconds left in the half. Beck finished the game, passing for 246 yards.

WHAT BALL CONTROL? Each team had 10 possessions in the first half. W&M's best chance came after an interception by David Houff, who returned it 28 yards to the Wolfpack's 19 on the opening series.

But true freshman Jonathan Grimes couldn't handle a pitchout from Phillips, and N.C. State recovered at its 9.

"We can't have fumbles like that," Phillips said. "It's a risky play to run with a pitch, but we've run it enough to be better at it than that."

ON DECK: The Tribe returns to Williamsburg for its home opener against VMI (1-0) on Saturday. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

W&M ------------------------- 0 0 10 14--24
N.C. State ------------------------- 7 7 7 13--34
First Quarter

NCSt--Brown 3 run (Czajkowski kick), 4:40.
Second Quarter

NCSt--Ja.Williams 22 pass from Beck (Czajkowski kick), :34.
Third Quarter

WM--FG Pate 43, 11:47.

NCSt--Bryan 1 pass from Beck (Czajkowski kick), 5:18.

WM--McAulay 30 pass from Phillips (Pate kick), 3:08.
Fourth Quarter

NCSt--FG Czajkowski 39, 14:54.

NCSt--FG Czajkowski 33, 13:29.

NCSt--Underwood 10 run (Czajkowski kick), 7:48.

WM--Cox 45 interception return (Pate kick), 5:56.

WM--McAulay 25 pass from Archer (Pate kick), :20.

A--56,694.
W&M
First downs-------------------------16

NCSt

11
Return yards-------------------------73

68
Punts-Avg.-------------------------9-45.3

9-41.0
Rushes-yards-------------------------33-115

30-67
Passing yards-------------------------188

258
Comp-Att-Int-------------------------19-37-2

21-36-2
Fumbles-lost-------------------------3-2

1-0
Penalties-yards-------------------------3-15

7-58
Time of possession-------------------------29:56

30:04
RUSHING

W&M (33-115) , Riggins 12-51, Grimes 8-30, Archer 3-26, Phillips 9-6, Woolfolk 1-2. N.C. State (30-67) , Brown 17-43, Underwood 9-29, Beck 2-6, Team 1-(minus 1), D.Evans 1-(minus 10).
PASSING

W&M (19-37-2--188) , Phillips 15-30-2-139, Archer 4-7-0-49. N.C. State (21-36-2--258) , Beck 17-25-1-246, D.Evans 4-11-1-12.
RECEIVING

W&M , McAulay 6-99, C.Hill 4-45, Grimes 4-5, Varno 3-31, Riggins 1-5, Woolfolk 1-3. N.C. State , Spencer 5-82, Bryan 5-41, Graham 3-78, Brown 2-9, James 2-9, Ja.Williams 1-22, Underwood 1-10, Gentry 1-5, Kushner 1-2.
TACKLES

W&M: Tracy 8, Rutter 8, Caldwell 7, Cox 5, Pigram 5, Alvarado 4, Herbert 4, O'Brien 3, Johnson 3, Stover 3, Steinman 3, Houff 2, Trantin 2, Robertson 2, Cottingham, Wells, Mack, Hill, Riggins, Lissemore, Hyde. N.C. State: Irving 13, Leonard 8, Morgan 6, Michel 6, Neal 6, Goodman 5, McKeen 4, Young 4, Holmes 3, Willis Jr. 3, Cash 3, Kuhn 3, Byers 3, Floyd 3, Gray 2, Burgess 2, Gentry 2, Tedder 2, Ellis, Simmons, Kushner, Rieskamp, Wilson, George.
SACKS

W&M: Tracy, Caldwell. N.C. State: Willis Jr., Kuhn, McKeen ½, Rieskamp ½.
INTERCEPTIONS

W&M: Cox, Houff. N.C. State: Irving, Gray.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES

N.C. State: Irving, Leonard.