‘We fight as hard as we can’: NC State digs deep to pull off gritty win against Carolina
The front of N.C. State’s helmets feature three letters: HTT.
Hard. Tough. Together.
That has been the Wolfpack football program’s motto for years, and it showed up in a big way on Saturday night in Chapel Hill when N.C. State defeated North Carolina, 35-30, to win a fourth consecutive rivalry game and become bowl eligible.
“No matter what we go through, we fight as hard as we can and just continue battling to find a way to win,” graduate defensive end Davin Vann said. “I saw that really in our offense. We put them in a bad situation. That last two minutes, they just went down the field and just continued hammering away, making plays, doing what they needed to do.”
N.C. State defeated the in-state rival with a lot of grit and tenacity. It overcame two ties and six lead changes. It scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and recorded 220 yards of offense, nearly matching its total through the first three.
Quarterback CJ Bailey started the game with 3-of-8 passing (.375) for 19 yards. He finished 14 of 20 (.700) with 242 yards; one of his most efficient games of the season. Bailey threw nine straight completions, including a pair of touchdowns and 40-yard passes, to end the game. He looked a lot like the earlier version of himself.
Bailey took over the starting spot earlier this year and went 130 for 187 passing (.695) in his first seven appearances. His more effective performance came against Stanford, when Bailey completed 18 of 20 passes (.800) for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
He took a step back against Duke and Georgia Tech, throwing a combined 33-69 (.478) for 331 yards and one score. That seemed to be behind him, at least for one weekend.
“I think it’s something with these rivalry games,” Bailey said. “Everybody is way more upbeat and motivated to go get the get the task at hand. That second half, it kicked in for us.”
Bailey said the team wanted to pull away from the Tar Heels and extended the lead to six points in the fourth quarter. It couldn’t fully stop the Heels, who retook the lead with 1:51 left in the game, but N.C. State responded.
“I was standing right next to one of the defensive coaches when (UNC) got those points and said, ‘Don’t worry. We’re gonna go win the game right now. I have total belief in our offense,’” Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren said.
That’s exactly what it did. This season, five of N.C. State’s games were decided by one possession. Three losses — Wake Forest, Syracuse and Georgia Tech — were largely impacted by turnovers and off-target passes. In fact, it entered the game minus-5 in the turnover margin. Additionally, many of its struggles could be attributed to a lack of finishing: plays, drives and games. It often let up on effort or discipline.
Doeren said Monday those affect whether a team has five wins or 10.
N.C. State won the turnover battle in its one last shot to extend the season, committing one and forcing two. Bailey completed a 44-yard pass to Noah Rogers, a receiver who dropped two straight in the first half, and set up the Wolfpack for a goal-line stand.
Running back Hollywood Smothers punched it in for a 2-yard touchdown and the win. The Oklahoma transfer finished with 83 rushing yards, his second-best performance of the season, and 34 receiving yards.
“We wait for rivalries like this and (to) end the season off the right way and get bowl eligible,” Smothers said. “Everybody knew the task at hand. We came out there and finished.”
The defense played with intensity and forced four three-and-outs. Despite giving up 24 points, and a 75-yard touchdown run by Omarion Hampton, after the intermission, N.C. State forced three non-productive drives.
Vann, safety DK Kaufman and freshman Kamal Bonner combined for 20 total tackles and 12 solo.
Plus, it was without a number of players, primarily in the secondary. Aydan White did not play, then Bishop Fitzgerald and Brandon Cisse sustained injuries in the first half that sidelined them the rest of the game.
“There were a lot of guys in that game that weren’t listed as starters. Some of them weren’t listed as backups, and they had to go in there and play,” Doeren said. “I’m so proud of the resiliency and the grit.”
Jackson Vick, a redshirt sophomore, sacked Carolina quarterback Jacolby Criswell for a loss of 5 yards on the final drive of the game. The subsequent play was a game-ending fumble by the Tar Heels. He also added a pass breakup, earning cheers from his teammates in the locker room.
“He’s been a guy that stayed coachable, stayed patient this year, really has helped us in a lot of different ways,” Doeren said. “You love it when guys like that get in the game and make a big play.”
The win over Carolina feels like a microcosm of the season. There have been tough breaks, injuries and imperfections. It lost the starting quarterback for good midway through the year. Nothing seemed to go right.
But it kept going. Winning .500 isn’t the standard — it’s easy to tell Doeren isn’t happy with that part — playing hard, being tough and staying together is. Doeren said the staff work to recruit physically tough players, teach them mental toughness and guide them on how to become strong leaders and teammates.
“It’s our DNA. It’s the identity of our program,” Doeren said after the victory. “Philip Rivers said it best, ‘The Wolfpack’s not for soft people.’ … I always feel like the teams that are the tightest find ways in adverse situations to hang in there. Our guys have done that.”
