Tag: N.C. State

All the numbers pointed to an offensive shootout, and CJ Bailey thought facing Notre Dame would be an opportunity to improve his second-half performances.

Bailey and the rest of the N.C. State team left South Bend disappointed and frustrated.

The Wolfpack (4-3) lost to No. 16 Notre Dame (4-2), 36-7, in its worst offensive performance of the season. It was also the worst outing by total yardage since the Wolfpack finished with 171 yards against Northern Illinois on Sept. 28, 2024, and the fewest points scored since Duke held the program to three points on Oct. 14, 2023.

“CJ was off a little today. There’s no other way to say it,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “I told him that in the locker room. … I hate to say it, but it’s just one of those days where he wasn’t as good as he’s been in some of our other games. And, Notre Dame was good in the box. It was hard to run the football.”

Bailey finished 17 of 30 for 186 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. It was his worst game of the season. He finished under 200 passing yards for the first time this year. Prior to the game, Bailey had averaged 277 yards through the air.

Bailey began the game with 3-of-7 passing for 25 yards, though ended the second quarter 11 of 17 (64.7%). Unlike the first six games, he didn’t have any runs with more than three consecutive completions.

Bailey started 8 for 8 against Virginia and 9 for 9 against Virginia Tech. The sophomore threw 15 straight completions against Duke, while putting together 11 straight against East Carolina and Campbell. Even against Wake Forest, he had a stretch of at least six straight completions.

“Those first halves and those in all of the games, I’ve been dang near perfect,” Bailey said Wednesday. “I just want to continue to have that in the second half.”

It was not to be this week. Bailey was 6 of 12 in the second half. Some passes were lobbed beyond the receivers, plays he’s made before, and others were thrown under pressure. All three interceptions came in the fourth quarter, with two on fourth-and-long.

“I’m a competitor, so I’m not gonna just take a sack on a fourth down. You know what I mean?” Bailey said. “I’m trying to make a play. Those were where [the interceptions] came from, and I was trying to throw the ball away on the third one. It happens.”

To cap off Bailey’s day, the sophomore fumbled the football on a direct snap, which resulted in a safety for Notre Dame.

“Games flip and change, but we’ve got to be better,” Bailey said. “In my position, as well, I gotta be better. The turnovers — it wasn’t the reason we lost. We just had to score more.”

N.C. State finished with 233 yards of total offense, including 51 rushing yards. It never got inside the 20-yard line or had favorable field position to attempt a field goal. The lack of run game hurt and made the team one-dimensional, which also contributed to the interceptions.

The Wolfpack recorded 12 first downs, half of Notre Dame’s total, and three came in the run game. Of those first downs, it only had five in the second half. N.C. State averaged 23.1 first downs per game in its first six matchups, including eight from run plays.

In total, the Pack ran 59 plays and averaged 3.9 yards on each one. By comparison, Notre Dame finished with 11 more plays and averaged 2.9 more yards per play.

The defense, despite the lopsided score, kept N.C. State in the game. It held the Irish to 10 first-half points, recorded three red-zone stops and held Notre Dame to 1 of 3 on fourth down.

“We were in the game the whole time. We just had to score more,” Bailey said. “That’s really what it was. We have to find ways to get the ball in the end zone.”

The last time N.C. State was in this position — following that Duke loss — it went into the bye week before rattling off five consecutive wins. It has a chance to replicate that, with an off week before jumping back into action at Pitt in two weeks. That’s going to be the focus.

“We’ve had games where we played lights out on defense, had games where we played lights out on offense. Had games where special teams was really poor. We need to put all three phases together,” Doeren said. “It’s a five-game season now, so that’s going to be the focus of this thing, finishing with three-phase football, complementary football, and getting better.”