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3 takeaways from an NC State comeback victory that continues Cal’s ACC frustration
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After losing 2 straight ACC games at home, NC State had to travel all the way across the country to claim its first ACC victory of the season.
Led by freshman quarterback CJ Bailey, who threw for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns, the Wolfpack overcame a pair of potentially-damaging 2nd-half turnovers to come roaring back for a 24-23 win at Cal on Saturday.
The win lifted Dave Doeren’s team back to .500 and enhanced its bowl chances while adding to the Bears’ frustration since becoming a member of the ACC. Cal is now 0-4 in conference games with the 4 losses coming by a combined total of 9 points.
This one was especially painful, because it followed almost an identical script to last week’s loss at Pittsburgh.
Right down to a missed field goal at the end.
Here are 3 takeaways from the dramatic bi-coastal battle between one of the ACC’s founding members and one of its 3 new entries:
CJ Bailey’s coming of age
Playing on the road is tough enough for a true freshman quarterback. Especially against an opponent that began the game tied for the FBS lead with 13 interceptions. But Cal made things even more difficult on Bailey by sacking him 6 times through the first 3 quarters.
It would have been understandable had Bailey been a little gun shy under those conditions. Instead, he bounced back to lead his team on a pair of long touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to help the Wolfpack battle back from a 2-score deficit.
Bailey finished off an 8-play, 75-yard march with a 4th-down touchdown pass to Dacari Collins to get State back within 23-17. He then engineered a 7-play, 80-yard drive highlighted by a key 3rd-down completion to tight end Justin Joly and a 41-yard screen pass to Hollywood Smothers for the go-ahead score.
Bailey completed 9 of his 13 4th-quarter passes for 146 yards and 2 scores.
Cal’s kicking woes continue
The Bears missed an opportunity to upset No. 20 Pittsburgh last week when Ryan Coe missed a potential go-ahead 40-yard field goal with less than 2 minutes remaining. It was the last straw for the North Carolina transfer, who converted only 7 of his 14 attempts through the season’s 1st 6 games.
He was replaced Saturday by true freshman Derek Morris. And for most of the game, it appeared as though the change was a positive one. Morris converted his first 3 attempts, a 41-yarder that tied the game late in the first half, a 26-yarder that gave Cal a 13-10 lead going into halftime and another chip shot early in the third quarter.
But with the game on the line, history repeated itself. A 13-play, 65-yard drive set Morris up for a potential game-winning 28-yard attempt with 1:34 remaining. But the freshman overcompensated for the bad angle by sailing his kick wide right to produce an all-too-familiar ending.
Kickoff coverage foreign to the Wolfpack
If it looked as though NC State’s kickoff coverage team was out of practice when Cal’s Nohl Williams decided to run one back from 3 yards deep in the end zone late in the first half, it’s because it probably was. Williams’ return was the first one against the Wolfpack this season.
Coming into the game, kickoff specialist Collin Smith was a perfect 38-for-38 on touchbacks. He also put his 1st 2 out of the end zone on Saturday. But things didn’t go well on his third attempt, following a 2-yard touchdown run by KC Concepcion.
Williams, the nation’s leader with 6 interceptions, was the last guy the Wolfpack would have wanted to bring back a kick. He had an 80-yard touchdown return earlier this season and leads the ACC at 35.3 yards per attempt. On this occasion, he broke through the initial wave of defenders, cut to the far sideline and wasn’t taken down until nearly midfield. His 43-yard return set up the 1st of 2 field goals in the final 2 minutes of the half that sent the Bears into the intermission with a 13-10 lead.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
