Quarterback Ryan Finley completed his first nine passes and fullback Jaylen Samuels scored three touchdowns as North Carolina State strolled past visiting William & Mary 48-14 in Thursday night's season opener at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

Finley, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Boise State, drew the starting assignment at quarterback for N.C. State. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 174 yards.

Finley's first touchdown pass came on a 16-yard play to receiver Bra'Lon Cherry for a 28-7 halftime lead.

Running back Matt Dayes, who rushed for 138 yards on 23 carries, opened the scoring on a 5-yard run less than 3 1/2 minutes into the game. His 4-yard run in the second quarter capped a 16-play drive that included four third-down conversions.

Dayes played for the first time since a season-ending foot injury last Halloween.

Samuels added a 3-yard scoring run in the second quarter. He ran for an 8-yard score in the third quarter and caught a pass from Finley on a 14-yard scoring play in the fourth quarter.

William & Mary quarterback Steve Cluley passed for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown. He was intercepted twice, completing 9 of 19 passes for 99 yards.

N.C. State is 4-0 in season openers under coach Dave Doeren.

It was an unsuccessful opener for William & Mary coach Jimmye Laycock, who's in his 37th season directing the Tribe and coached his first game with the team in this same stadium.