CJ Bailey Leads the Pack Back from 13-Point Deficit in the 4th Quarter to Defeat Cal 24-23

NC State won their first ACC game of the 2024 season today, defeating Cal 24-23 on the road. The Wolfpack started the season 0-3 in ACC play for the first time since 2014, and managed to not match the 0-4 start in ACC play from the same year.

Heading into the 4th Quarter, the Wolfpack was down by 13 points, trailing 10-23. True Freshman Quarterback CJ Bailey put the offense on his back, throwing 2 touchdowns in the final quarter to secure the Wolfpack victory.

Bailey put together the most memorable performance of his first year of college football, completing 69% of his passes for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns (0 interceptions). His passing efficiency rating was 159.2. This marks the second consecutive game in a row that Bailey has thrown for 300+ yards and 2 touchdowns.

NC State really couldn’t get anything going today in the run game, rushing for only 29 yards (1 yard per carry). Redshirt Freshman Running Back Hollywood Smothers led the Pack with 7 carries for 25 yards, and Sophomore Wide Receiver Kevin Concepcion had a 2-yard touchdown run on a direct snap. Bailey was sacked 6 times for a loss of 33 yards, which hurt the teams overall rushing numbers, but even if you adjust the rushing total accordingly, NC State still only averaged 2.6 yards per carry.

Junior Tight End Justin Joly led the Wolfpack with 95 yards receiving (season high) on 4 catches. Smothers might not have racked up the yards on the ground, but he had a team high 6 receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. Concepcion was targeted a team high 7 times (Smothers and Joly were targeted 6 times each), and finished with 4 receptions for 53 yards. KC also completed a pass for 28 yards to Smothers, his high school teammate.

Smothers has produced 100+ yards of total offense in back-to-back games.

Senior Defensive End Davin Vann was the hero on the Wolfpack’s defense, with two sacks in the 4th Quarter, and a forced fumble. Junior Cornerback Devon Marshall and Redshirt Freshman Linebacker Kamal Bonner led the team with 8 tackles each. Senior Safety Bishop Fitzgerald forced a fumble that Redshirt Sophomore Nickel Isaiah Crowell recovered. Fitzgerald led the team with 2 pass breakups.

Cal had more total yards than NC State (399/363) and won the Turnover Margin (2/1), but the Wolfpack found a way to win. Sure, the Golden Bears missed a field goal to likely win the game at the end, but NC State missed a field goal of their own earlier in the game. The Wolfpack managed to control the time of possession, holding the ball for 5 more minutes.

The last time NC State won a game in which they lost the turnover margin? Week 4 of the 2022 season, when the Wolfpack defeated UCONN 41-10, losing the turnover margin 1-0.

NC State is now 4-4, with 4 games left on the regular season slate. The Wolfpack is hoping to go on a run like they did last year, winning 5 straight to close out the regular season.

NC State has a bye week before they host Stanford on November 2nd.