ANNAPOLIS, Md. — With Wolfpack fans roaring in the stands and the Pirate offense backed up at its own 14-yard line with less than two minutes to go, it seemed as if NC State football would finally end its seven-year bowl victory drought. Then the tides turned in an instant as East Carolina’s Rahjai Harris burst into the open field for an 86-yard touchdown and a 26-21 lead.
Despite the initial shock, NC State still had a chance to go and win the game with a minute and 27 seconds left. Did the Pirates leave too much time for freshman quarterback CJ Bailey to steal the game?
With excellent field position and two consecutive completions to start the drive, it looked as if the red-and-white would retake the lead. That was until Bailey tossed an interception the next play that ended any hopes for the Wolfpack. East Carolina walked away with a 26-21 win in the Military Bowl and NC State closed its season with a losing record — its first losing season since 2019 — and a far cry from the team’s lofty preseason expectations.
The Wolfpack’s (6-7) last two drives encapsulated NC State’s entire 2024 season — initially promising but ending in disaster. Like so many plays this season for the Wolfpack defense, what should have been a five-yard gain turned into a house call because of poor execution. Whether it was missed tackles, wrong gap fits or anything in between, the Pack surrendered far too many long runs this season and the issue doomed the red-and-white one last time against the Pirates (8-5), who finished the game with 326 rushing yards.
“We did nothing to stop them,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “It’s hard to win a football game when you give up 300 yards rushing.”
Offensively, the Wolfpack had moments where it appeared close to breaking out throughout the year. Playmakers like senior tight end Justin Joly and redshirt freshman receiver Noah Rogers clicked with Bailey — just like the start of the Pack’s final offensive drive. However, as talented as Bailey is, he’s still a freshman and makes freshman mistakes, as seen in his final pass of the year.
Bailey lasered a pass that ricocheted off redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers and into the hands of the Pirates. With experience, Bailey will throw that pass softer but for now, he’ll have to learn and grow from the blunder.
“This game is over now,” Bailey said. “I’ve already flipped the page and took that mindset to go get ready for next year. We have a lot of things to work on in the offseason.”
While NC State can point fingers at the defense giving up an inexcusable 86-yard touchdown or Bailey’s late pick, the Wolfpack’s inability to finish drives in the first half hurt the red-and-white just as much. The Pack opened the game with a promising 55-yard drive but stalled out and turned it over on downs after back-to-back failed runs up the middle. If the offensive line blocked better, NC State may have scored. If the Wolfpack attacked the edge of the defense instead of running into its teeth it may have scored. Instead, the Pack walked away empty-handed, allowing ECU to set the tone early.
“Easy thing to do is to blame a play caller when there’s 11 guys on the field needed to block, run and catch,” Doeren said. “It’s everyone’s fault. Always looking to see if we could’ve called better plays. It’s easy to point the finger at that one guy.”
The Pack once again failed to score on its second drive, despite driving into the red zone. With penalties mounting and the offense stalling, the Pack settled for a 34-yard field goal and missed it. An already confident ECU team was handed a break and took advantage, going up double digits on the Wolfpack in the second quarter.
The Wolfpack continued to start strong offensive drives through the third quarter before almost always stalling out. Making its job difficult, the Pack entered the fourth quarter down 20-7 before flipping a switch.
Once the final 15 minutes of play began, NC State appeared to be a whole new squad. Bailey threw for 91 yards in the quarter, including touchdown passes to Joly and Smothers. The defense found its footing and began forcing stops as the Wolfpack took a 21-20 lead. Then it all came crashing down as quickly as it began with Harris’ 86-yard touchdown.
“I was proud of how we fought back, got back into the football game,” Doeren said. “Flipped the momentum, took the lead, and then just didn’t finish. … We had our chances to win that football game and didn’t get it done.”
NC State certainly did have the chance to win the game late and looked to be the better team in the fourth quarter. But football isn’t a one-quarter sport. The Pirates thoroughly handled NC State in the first three quarters, mauling the Wolfpack defense drive after drive and stifling the Pack’s red zone offense. The Wolfpack was often the better team this season in the fourth quarter but will need to find success earlier in games next season if it wants to bounce back in 2025.
With the curtain closed on the 2024 season, NC State has plenty of work to do in the offseason. What was expected to be NC State’s breakthrough season turned out to be the first losing season in Raleigh since 2019. The Wolfpack’s first chance to rebound from this season will be against a familiar foe: East Carolina. The Pack and the Pirates will kick off the 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 in Carter-Finley Stadium.
