NC State football report card: California

By Ethan McDowell

NC State needed this win over California. The Wolfpack went into this game on a losing streak, dropping 3 of its past 4 matchups and starting its ACC schedule 0-3 before surging late to defeat the Golden Bears 24-23 on the road.

It was far from pretty at points, but NC State’s offense and defense showed up in key moments. The offense looked super explosive through the air thanks to freshman quarterback CJ Bailey’s continued growth as a passer, and the defense disrupted Cal in crunch time after the Bears moved the ball with ease for most of the game.

This team finished strong — something head coach Dave Doeren has been pleading for from his team over the past couple of weeks when it lost consecutive home games by one score. The Wolfpack won the fourth quarter 14-0, erased a 13-point deficit and left the West Coast with a win.

NC State offense grade vs. California

Grade — B

NC State continues to put more and more responsibility on Bailey and, more often than not, he’s up for the challenge. The signal-caller finished this contest with a 69 percent completion percentage, racking up 306 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is the first Pack quarterback to throw for 300 yards in consecutive games since Devin Leary in 2021.

However, Bailey took 6 sacks. Some of them sit firmly on the shoulders of the offensive line, but a couple fall on the quarterback for hanging on to the ball too long. Overall, he took care of the ball well, recording his second game without a turnover this season. He spread the ball around to 9 different receivers, and 7 of them received at least 3 targets.

Junior tight end Justin Joly continued to prove that he is a future NFL player, hauling in 4 of 6 targets for 95 yards. When NC State needed a big play, he was always there. The tight end averaged 23.8 yards per catch. Redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers led the team with 6 catches for 87 yards, including the winning 41-yard touchdown. He looked elusive and explosive, and appears to be the team’s best back.

NC State also began to find KC Concepcion more consistently downfield. The sophomore receiver caught a 32-yard deep ball and averaged 13.3 yards per catch during a 53-yard day. He made plays without the Pack relying on pop passes and jet sweeps. NC State finished the game with 9 passes that traveled 15 yards or more.

The passing game was clicking and looked possibly the best it has all season considering how well Bailey executed explosive plays without throwing an interception. With that said, it’s hard to grade the offense much higher than a ‘B’ after it struggled so much on the ground.

Smothers paced the pack with 25 rushing yards. Bailey led the team with 15 rushing attempts. The sacks are part of that, but NC State really tried to get him involved in the ground game, and that did not work. Smothers averaged 3.6 yards per carry. No one else finished above 2.0. The program’s commitment to the quarterback run was confounding at times.

NC State averaged 8.9 yards to gain on 17 third down attempts but still managed to move the sticks consistently. The Pack converted 8, picking up 12.5 yards per attempt. Bailey completed 9 of 11 passes for 169 yards on third down. NC State also converted both of its fourth down attempts.

Defense grade

Grade — B

The Wolfpack shut Cal out in the fourth quarter, and that proved to be the difference in this game. Going into this contest, it was very clear that the Golden Bears’ place-kickers were the weakness of their squad. NC State forced the specialists to beat them Saturday. For three quarters, that worked out fine for the home team, but Cal missed the go-ahead 28-yard field goal with 1:34 to go.

NC State’s defense gave up 247 yards in the first half, with Cal averaging 7.7 yards per play over the first two quarters and completing 16 of 21 passes while dicing up the Wolfpack defense. In the fourth quarter, NC State needed its defense to step up, and it responded with 3 sacks, including 2 by graduate defensive lineman Davin Vann.

Senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald played one of his best games in a Pack uniform with 6 tackles (5 solo), 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble for the team’s only turnover of the game. NC State finished the game with 6 tackles for loss, and at least half of them happened over the final 15 minutes.

After struggling to get off the field at times in recent weeks, the Wolfpack really stepped up in that area against Cal. The Golden Bears finished the game 2 of 14 on third down and 2 of 4 on fourth down. NC State won the time of possession battle by just over 5 minutes.

The Wolfpack needs more consistent disruption over the first three quarters, but Cal’s offense does not make many mistakes, and the defense made the plays it needed to leave with a win.

Special teams grade

Grade — D+

NC State’s special teams struggled Saturday. Graduate receiver Jalen Coit fumbled a punt that led to a Cal touchdown. The Pack also gave up its first kick return of the year, and the Golden Bears picked up 40 yards on that run back.

Redshirt junior punter Caden Noonkester averaged 40.6 yards per punt but had a couple of short attempts that gave Cal favorable field position. Kanoah Vinesett attempted two kicks Saturday, and the redshirt sophomore missed one from 53 while making another from 27.

This was probably the Pack’s worst special teams performance of the season.