CINCINNATI — Six sacks, three more turnovers. Sure felt like a throwback game for Cincinnati’s defense.

Zach Collaros scrambled for two touchdowns and threw for two more, and Cincinnati’s defense had its way for much of the game Thursday night, helping the Bearcats pull away to a 44-14 victory over North Carolina State.

The Bearcats (3-1) put together one of their most complete wins in coach Butch Jones’ two seasons, with the defense playing a starring role — much like it did in 2008, when they won the first of their two Big East titles.

“That’s what Cincinnati is,” said linebacker J.K. Schaffer, who had one of Cincinnati’s two interceptions. “If you look at Cincinnati three years ago, their defense got after it. And we want to get back to that. We’ve done that last game and this game, and we want to do it every single game.”

N.C. State (2-2) couldn’t handle the Bearcats’ defensive pressure or keep up with Collaros, who repeatedly scrambled out of grasps and made pinpoint throws on the run. He ran 13 and 10 yards for touchdowns, and hooked up with running back Isaiah Pead on a 25-yard screen pass for another score. Pead ran for 167 yards and scored twice.

“He was really in charge and really in command,” Jones said. “He played the way we expect him to play.”

The Wolfpack’s Mike Glennon threw touchdown passes of 87 and 49 yards to T.J. Graham, but had two interceptions that set up early Cincinnati touchdowns and set the tone.

“Things started snowballing,” N.C. State middle linebacker Audie Cole said. “They played well. We gave up containment and Collaros is pretty athletic. You can’t do that.

“Anytime you lose like that it is embarrassing.”

The two-game series finished in a split — the Wolfpack won 30-19 in Raleigh last year. The Bearcats were still stewing over that loss in the rematch.

“The whole offense saw how we played that game, and there definitely was a feeling of revenge,” Collaros said. “We felt embarrassed by the way we played them last year.”

The defense excelled for the second straight game.

Cincinnati got rattled during a 45-23 loss at Tennessee, then rebounded by returning a fumble and two interceptions for touchdowns during a 59-14 win over Akron last Saturday. The turnovers kept coming Thursday night.