Stanford hasn’t received a friendly welcome to the ACC this season. The Cardinal lost six straight games before its bout with NC State football in Raleigh, earning a dismal 1-4 ACC record.
Like the rest of the conference, the Wolfpack showed no hospitality toward the newfound opponent.
NC State (5-4, 2-3 ACC) put on a scoring clinic against the Cardinal (2-7, 1-5 ACC), romping its West Coast opposition in a 59-28 win at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. The Wolfpack sent its opponents back to the Golden State to the tune of a staggering 527 offensive yards and nine straight scoring drives after a fast start.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “We talked a lot during the bye week about starting fast, working on little things that have really not been efficient, but should be — fundamentals and getting guys to play complimentary football and really focus on the things that make us a better football team. And I’m proud of the guys for doing it.”
While freshman quarterback CJ Bailey let the running game do the heavy lifting in the first 15 minutes, the rising star took over the game in the second quarter. Bailey finished his third win as the Pack’s starting quarterback by going 18-for-20 in passing — good for a highly efficient 90% passing completion mark — and tossing a trio of touchdown passes.
For the first time this season, NC State’s rushing attack found its rhythm. The red-and-white’s backs put up 246 yards on the ground while sporting two 100-plus yard rushers in redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers and graduate running back Jordan Waters. Both backs punched in a pair of scores each by the end of the day and contributed to a season-high total of 281 rushing yards.
“I thought our guys controlled the line of scrimmage and we had big holes for guys to run through and then you love seeing the backs finish runs like that,” Doeren said. “Whether it’s running through somebody, making a guy miss or running away from people, that was good to see.”
While Waters ripped a monstrous 94-yard touchdown rush in the third quarter, Smothers was the workhorse for offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s offense on the day. The redshirt freshman kicked off the Wolfpack’s high-flying day with a two-yard touchdown run on his squad’s opening drive. Later, Smothers used his speed and ankle-breaking abilities on a 52-yard touchdown rush in the third quarter.
“He’s so consistent,” Waters said. “He comes in with the mindset of, ‘[I] want this,’ and if you’re around Hollywood, he makes everybody around him better. And that’s why he continues to get better every day. And he’s going to be a great one for NC State.”
After Smothers’ early score, Waters capped off NC State’s second straight drive with a touchdown, a 13-yard score that quickly put the Wolfpack up 14-0. While the Cardinal battled back with back-to-back scoring drives of its own that eventually set the score at 17-14, NC State kept its foot on the gas thanks to Bailey’s big second quarter.
Bailey captained two second-quarter touchdown drives, both of which concluded in red zone touchdown throws from the freshman. The first came on a nimble play from Bailey who broke out of pressure in the pocket and found junior tight end Justin Joly while on the run. The second came in a two-minute drill with just 34 seconds left in the half on a strike to freshman wide receiver Keenan Jackson.
Bailey seemed like he was in full control of the offense, a trait Doeren attributed to his hard work in practice.
“CJ is a worker,” Doeren said. “You see this smiling young kid running around making plays, but behind the scenes, he’s a grinder. He’s in there watching film, and he practices really hard.”
Bailey and company’s hot streak continued in the second half. Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, who had a quiet first half, scored a pair of touchdowns in the second, the first of which came on a nine-yard rush on the Pack’s opening drive of the third quarter.
While the Wolfpack’s offense was firing on all cylinders, its defense did enough to stave off the Stanford attack, including forcing two turnovers that contributed to a day of all-around complementary football.
“When there’s no mistakes, no turnovers going on for the offense, it eases up everything for the game,” Bailey said. “And having games like this really helps the team, because now we could do what we wanted on offense and defense. So it really creates some relaxation, some space to just do what we want on offense.”
Smothers, Waters and Concepcion all went on to score their respective second touchdowns of the day as the Wolfpack widened the gap. By the fourth quarter, after his third touchdown throw, Bailey and the starters were taken out as the Pack cruised to the 59-28 win.
While NC State hasn’t had the smoothest of seasons so far, the Wolfpack has a chance to finish its season strong after beginning to build a winning streak. NC State needs just one more win to become bowl-eligible.
“It’s been a rough one this year,” Waters said. “[It’s] just knowing what we’re capable of and what we put our bodies through and how hard we work — just the mentality of going out there and finishing the season the right way.”
The Wolfpack will play its final home game of the season next Saturday against Duke. A kickoff time between the Tobacco Road Rivals has yet to be announced.
