CJ Bailey threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard pass to Hollywood Smothers in the fourth quarter, leading North Carolina State to a 24-23 victory over California on Saturday.
Bailey had a challenging game and faced a lot of pressure from the Bears’ defense, but he managed to guide the Wolfpack on their winning drive. The freshman quarterback completed 25 of 36 passes to help North Carolina State (4-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) win a match where they were mostly outplayed.
“He doesn’t flinch,” North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren said. “He stays positive and he’s just got that it factor when it comes to how he manages things and overcomes. Even when he makes a bad play it doesn’t rattle him.”
The Wolfpack was down 23-10 and struggled to find rhythm in their offense until the last quarter.
After a fumble on a muffed punt return led to Bailey’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Dacari Collins, which cut Cal’s lead to 23-17, N.C. State’s defense stepped up and got the ball back by forcing the Bears to punt.
Bailey excelled on that drive, completing four of seven passes for 80 yards, including the game-winning touchdown to Smothers with 6:32 left.
“It feels really great to know that I have good play-makers and good guys around me,” Bailey said. “I was taking sacks that I didn’t have to take.” Smothers mentioned that the Wolfpack are gaining confidence in Bailey with each passing day.
“It comes natural to him,” Smothers said. “Gotta keep believing in him. He’s going to get the job done. CJ (has) everything he needs to be great.” Cal missed a chance to win when freshman kicker Derek Morris missed a 28-yard attempt wide right with 1:37 left.
Morris won the kicking job in practice earlier this week after Ryan Coe missed an important kick in the last two minutes of last Saturday’s loss to No. 20 Pittsburgh. In his college debut, Morris had successfully kicked from 41, 26, and 24 yards.
This win ended a two-game losing streak for the Wolfpack.
On the other hand, the Bears remain winless in conference play in their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Cal (3-4, 0-4) has lost all four of its conference games by a total of nine points.
Fernando Mendoza completed 30 of 42 passes for 282 yards for Cal, while Jaivian Thomas ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s going to take a lot of self-evaluation,” Mendoza said. “It sucks. No one’s happy right now. But it takes a little bit of ‘be real with yourself.’”
California joined the ACC this summer after the Pac-12 fell apart. The Golden Bears lost their first three conference games by a total of eight points before hosting the Wolfpack in the first matchup between the two teams.
Thomas got Cal off to a fast start with a 49-yard touchdown on the Bears’ first running play. A sophomore filling in for the injured Jaydn Ott, Thomas also added a 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
North Carolina State fell behind early but came back to take a 10-7 lead after Kanoah Vinesett’s 27-yard field goal and KC Concepcion’s 2-yard touchdown run in the first half. Concepcion’s touchdown came two plays after Bailey completed a 31-yard pass on fourth-and-8.
