Cal struck first in one minute and 13 seconds. The offense unraveled at the goal line of NC State football’s second drive after a three-and-out on the first. Two turnovers led to 10 Golden Bear points. Six sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss ravaged multiple Wolfpack possessions.
The worst adjustment in football is no adjustment, and most of the game displayed the same Wolfpack football team that has dropped two straight. But a 13-point 4th quarter comeback showed a Wolfpack squad that hasn’t quit yet.
“Really proud of our players and staff, thankful for their grit and perseverance, the way they finished and didn’t give up,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “A lot of things went wrong there, turnover-wise. It put us in a tough spot defensively, but the offense got going. Once we got behind two scores, it was great to see that back-to-back where we started playing complimentary football with scoring drives.”
In their first meeting all time, NC State (4-4, 1-3 ACC) beat the Golden Bears 24-23, winning its first conference game and giving Cal (3-4, 0-4 ACC) its fourth straight loss of five-or-less points. It was also the Wolfpack’s first game on the West Coast since 1960 against UCLA.
It was a masterful fourth quarter from true freshman quarterback CJ Bailey who led consecutive touchdown drives that wiped cascading momentum for the Golden Bears off the scoreboard. Bailey finished 25 of 36 for 306 yards and two touchdowns along with no turnovers, marking the best performance of his young career.
“CJ is getting better and better every game,” said redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers. “It comes naturally to him. We just gotta keep believing in him and he’s going to get the job done. CJ has everything he needs to be great.”
With one minute and 37 seconds left in regulation, Cal kicker Derek Morris missed a chip-shot 28-yard field goal to retake the lead. After holding the Wolfpack to a three-and-out, Cal retook possession in desperation mode, with just over a minute remaining and no timeouts, simply seeking to give the freshman another chance.
The Wolfpack’s defense stood tall as graduate defensive end Davin Vann put the Golden Bears behind the chains and forced a turnover on downs to effectively end the game. That’s the perseverance has been sorely lacking in the first half of the year.
Another lacking aspect that came to fruition was chunk plays as NC State executed seven plays of 20 or more yards, including a 41-yard go-ahead touchdown on a screen to Smothers. The Oklahoma transfer finished with 112 yards of offense to mark his second straight outing above the century mark. Finding those explosive plays was key not only to the game but to the confidence of the 18-year-old signal caller.
“It feels great to know I’ve got playmakers and guys around me that help the team out,” Bailey said. “Guys like Hollywood Smothers, Justin Joly and KC Concepcion. Those guys I can count on. I’m glad to have those guys because they made big plays and changed the game.”
Junior tight end Joly accounted for three of the big plays and sophomore receiver Kevin Concepcion had two — one on a reception and one on a trick pass to Smothers.
Showing uncommon leadership as a freshman, Bailey pointed to himself for the early struggles.
“I got antsy in the pocket,” Bailey said. “I had to stay more poised and be more decisive. I was indecisive on plays and took sacks when I didn’t have to. Once I learn to start the game quicker, get the ball out of my hands and not take those sacks, it’ll be much better for our offense.”
Cal came into the week third in the country and first among Power Four teams in turnover margin, including claiming the national leader for interceptions in senior Nohl Williams. Williams’ presence and early activity played a role in Bailey’s indecisiveness.
Despite the absence of running back Jaydn Ott, a Preseason All-American selection, Cal averaged 8.5 yards per carry in the first half, typified by the opening 49-yard run in the first quarter. However, the Golden Bears were suffocated to just 1.3 in the second half, led by Vann’s effort who finished with two tackles for loss with two sacks.
After falling under .500 for the first time since 2019 entering the game against the Golden Bears, Doeren had the team take a mental reset before this week, pointing toward the home stretch of the regular season rather than the struggle that this season’s story has foretold.
“We turned it into a five-game season,” Doeren said. “‘How good can we be for five weeks?’ I showed them where we were statistically, and some of them weren’t very pretty. Let’s take another picture of this in five weeks and see what we really are. If we do things the right way, we win the turnover margin. If we continue to improve, we can make plays like you saw us making [in] key moments in that game.”
The over 2,800 mile journey is the first and last of the season for NC State, but with Cal and Stanford both joining the conference, it’s the first of many for Doeren’s team.
“It’s a long flight, man,” Doeren said. “Five and a half hours, 45-minute bus ride, it’s a lot of travel. I’m glad we have a bye week on the backside of it. But the guys obviously did a good job, our staff did a good job, everybody pitched in and the players sucked it up. You have to give them a lot of credit.”
The Wolfpack will fly back to Raleigh in a rejuvenated spirit for a restful week before hosting Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff against the Cardinal has yet to be announced.
