Hollywood Smothers and Jordan Waters each scored two rushing touchdowns, while quarterback CJ Bailey added three more, as North Carolina State dominated Stanford 59-28, giving the Cardinal their sixth straight loss.
The Wolfpack (2-3 ACC, 5-4) ended a two-game losing streak at home with a strong start to the second half. North Carolina State scored three touchdowns on just four plays, highlighted by Waters’ impressive 94-yard run, which is the second-longest rushing touchdown in the school’s history.
“Today things clicked and that’s what efficiency looks like,” said N.C. State coach Dave Doeren. “That’s what it looks like to stack plays and not beat yourself when you have good players.
If you can stay on the field and stay ahead of the change, good things happen. I always say explosive plays lead to big scores, and we were able to have some huge explosive plays.”
Bailey, who became the starting quarterback midseason after Grayson McCall retired due to head injuries, completed 18 of 20 passes for 234 yards.
The freshman from Miami showed great skill with deep throws, hitting three passes of over 25 yards while achieving a QB rating of 237.8 before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter.
“I think I really improved on staying relaxed,” Bailey said. “I got a little antsy with a couple of games before. It’s getting to that point where it’s just like everything is smooth, everything is perfect. Let’s just continue to build off of that because it’s felt like everything is in control.”
During a game where Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson, last year’s ACC defensive player of the year, was honored in the NC State Ring of Honor, the Wolfpack started slowly on defense and allowed 398 yards of total offense.
Stanford (1-5, 2-7) managed to keep up by scoring on three of its first six possessions, led by quarterback Ashton Daniels, who rushed for touchdowns of 67 and 48 yards. He tied a school record for rushing by a quarterback with 129 yards on 11 carries.
However, Daniels got injured early in the third quarter after a hit from Kamal Bonner that resulted in a roughing the passer penalty. Although Daniels returned to the sideline after going to the locker room, he was replaced for the rest of the game by Justin Lamson, who rushed for one touchdown and threw for another.
This was the first matchup between the two schools, and it marked Stanford’s fifth straight loss in the ACC since winning its conference opener on September 20.
