What they’re saying after NC State’s comeback win at Cal

After dropping its first three ACC games of the season, NC State finally broke through with a 24-23 win at Cal on Saturday afternoon. The Pack handed the Bears their fourth league loss, leaving the conference newcomers winless in the ACC. 

Here is what those who covered the game are saying about the Pack’s fourth win of the season.

Ethan McDowell, The Wolfpacker — Column: What would a season turnaround look like for NC State?

NC State’s bye week was the turning point last year. The Pack lost a Week 7 clash with Duke in demoralizing fashion, falling to 4-3 before rallying from there to capture five consecutive wins.

That 24-3 setback against the Blue Devils served as an opportunity for change. NC State’s entire season flipped after that week. The Pack defeated Clemson to kick off a thrilling run with a squad that looked almost entirely different from the first half of the year.

This season, the bye week arrived a week later, and NC State is welcoming the week away from competition. A banged-up Wolfpack squad improved to 4-4 with a 24-23 win over California. A missed 27-yard field goal late in the game helped NC State’s cause, while a potent mixture of explosion from Hollywood Smothers, playmaking from CJ Bailey and game-wrecking pass rush from Davin Vann powered the program to victory.

NC State will board the plane back to the East Coast in a deservedly celebratory mood — a much different tone than last year’s Duke game. The message and goals for this team remain the same.

Win out.

Noah Fleischman, The Wolfpacker — NC State QB CJ Bailey ‘doesn’t flinch’ in comeback win at Cal

He could have been rattled in this new situation. NC State, winless in ACC play, trailed by 13 going into the fourth quarter with an ineffective run game more than 2,800 miles away from home at Cal on Saturday afternoon. But freshman quarterback CJ Bailey was quite the opposite. 

Bailey, who made just his fourth career start against the Bears, had a unique sense of calmness about him on the sidelines. He wasn’t panicking, rather Bailey was trying to pick his teammates up. The Pack’s offense, which sputtered through the first half, just needed its first score to give the unit life, he thought.

And, well, Bailey helped engineer that drive early in the period. An eight-play, 75-yard series that resulted in a redshirt junior wide receiver Dacari Collins 1-yard touchdown reception. That score capped a drive where Bailey made back-to-back explosive throws to junior tight end Justin Joly and redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers that went for 29 and 28 yards, respectively. 

It seemed that series unlocked the Pack’s offense. 

Jadyn Watson-Fisher, News & Observer — Go West, Wolfpack: NC State football rallies past Cal to win first ACC game of season

Quarterback CJ Bailey ran into the end zone and chest-bumped running back Hollywood Smothers. They were met by several teammates celebrating Smother’s 41-yard, game-tying touchdown. 

Kicker Kanoah Vinesett made the extra point and gave N.C. State the lead. Then, Cal-Berkeley missed a go-ahead field goal, spoiling homecoming activities in the Bay Area. 

N.C. State defeated Cal, 24-23, in the first meeting between the two programs and staved off what would’ve been its worst ACC start in 10 years.

 “It’s a brotherhood here, and we’ve just gotta lean on each other,” said Smothers. “We drop blood, sweat and tears into this together. We watch each other go through the ups and downs. Even through adversity, we’ve just gotta stick together. I feel like that was shown today.”

Rodd Baxley, The Fayetteville Observer — Dave Doeren channels Philip Rivers after NC State football’s comeback ACC win at Cal

N.C. State football coach Dave Doeren channeled former Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, California. 

Following the Wolfpack’s 24-23 comeback ACC victory at Cal, a win in which N.C. State (4-3, 1-3 ACC) rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Doeren praised the toughness of his team and its response to adversity. 

In doing so, Doeren pulled a page from Rivers, whose famous speech ahead of the Wolfpack’s 2016 spring game featured a phrase that continues to inspire the program.

“The Wolfpack’s not for soft people,” Doeren said after the Wolfpack’s first ACC win of the season in the program’s first trip to the West Coast since 1960.

“Sometimes we don’t play the way that we need to. It’s on me to get that right.”

Michael Wagaman, Associated Press — North Carolina State rallies to beat Cal 24-23

BERKELEY, Calif. — CJ Bailey passed for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 41-yarder to Hollywood Smothers in the fourth quarter, rallying North Carolina State to a 24-23 win over California on Saturday.

Bailey had an uneven day and was under a lot of pressure from the Bears’ defense before leading 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 game they were mostly outplayed in.

“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 trailed 23-10 and hadn’t been able to find much rhythm to their offense until the final quarter.

Steve Kroner, San Francisco Chronicle — Cal’s late missed FG dooms Bears to another painful loss, 24-23 to NC State

Broken record, broken hearts.

On Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Cal absorbed its fourth straight excruciating loss, falling 24-23 to NC State.

Freshman kicker Derek Morris, who had hit the first three field-goal attempts of his career in the game, pushed a 28-yard try to the right with 1:34 remaining that would have given the Bears the lead.

“I was sure he was going to make that kick,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said, “and we were trying to give him another shot at it.”

The Bears did get the ball one more time, starting at their 34 with 1:09 left, but they managed only 5 yards and lost possession on downs.

Morris had replaced Ryan Coe, who went 7-for-14 on field-goal tries this season. Coe still handled kickoffs Saturday.

Those four straight losses for Cal (3-4, 0-4 ACC) have come by a combined nine points, the past three by a combined four points.