Just what it needed: Three takeaways from N.C. State’s big homecoming win over Stanford

Stanford cornerback Brandon Nicholson lay on the grass at Carter-Finley Stadium, his arms outstretched. Nicholson attempted to stop NC State running back Jordan Waters short of the goal line, but it was too late.

Touchdown, Wolfpack.

Waters’ 94-yard run was the second-longest rush in NC State history and put his team up 31 points in the third quarter. It also epitomized Saturday’s game: A lot of offense, and times when the defense from both teams fell short.

NC State defeated first-year league opponent Stanford, 59-28, for its second consecutive win and the first 50-point performance since defeating Charleston Southern, 55-3, on Sept. 10, 2022.

“It means a lot to see a win on our record,” quarterback CJ Bailey said. “That 59 is huge. I was telling those guys, we were up 31 to 21, I said, ‘How does 60 points sound? Let’s go for 60.’ We fell up short of 60, but I love that. “

The Wolfpack (5-4, 2-3 ACC) couldn’t have done it without several clutch performances.

Three players — Hollywood Smothers, KC Concepcion and Waters — scored two touchdowns each. In addition to Waters’ 94-yard touchdown rush, Smothers added a 52-yard run midway through the third quarter. Concepcion scored rushing and receiving touchdowns.

Safety DK Kaufman finished with 164 all-purpose yards after his work on special teams. Kaufman’s biggest play of the game came on a 91-yard kickoff return at the start of the second half.

Bailey looked confident as well. The freshman completed 18 of 20 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns. He did not throw an interception. Bailey added 19 rushing yards.

NC State’s offensive line deserves a lot of credit for setting the team up for success. It won the line of scrimmage, giving Bailey plenty of time to throw. Even when the pocket collapsed, blocking from other players was strong enough to give Bailey additional time to find a receiver or find an opening to run.

“These guys are willing to accept the things that they haven’t done, put a plan together to improve, and then they get on the field and they work. I love that about our team,” NC State head coach Dave Doeren said. “And, CJ is a worker. You see this smiling young kid running around making plays, but behind the scenes, he’s a grinder. He’s in there watching film, and he practices really hard.”

The defense struggled at times against the Cardinal (2-7, 1-5 ACC), which finished with 10 explosive plays. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels recorded 48- and 67-yard rushing touchdowns after finding gaps in coverage.

However, in true N.C. State fashion, the defense also added its own big plays. Nickel back Devon Marshall intercepted a pass from backup QB Justin Lamson. Defensive end Davin Vann contributed a strip sack, with linebacker Sean Brown recovering the fumble.

When talking about the season and the team’s ability to turn things around, Vann said the team focuses on staying resilient. That was evident Saturday.

Overall, the Wolfpack played complementary football for the entire game — something it’s been looking for all year.

Here are three takeaways from the homecoming victory:

Wolfpack gets out to hot start

NC State can credit its success Saturday to a strong start in all three phases.

Stanford won the coin toss and chose to defer, Wolfpack safety DK Kaufman in the backfield to receive the kickoff. Kaufman returned the football 45 yards, putting his team just short of midfield.

Then the offense capitalized on the effort, putting together a 55-yard drive. Smothers ran the ball into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. NC.State had not scored a touchdown in the first quarter since Sept. 28 when it beat Northern Illinois.

On the next drive, Vann recorded the sack and fumble. Brown recovered the fumble. Waters scored the 13-yard touchdown that gave the Pack a 14-0 lead. It was the first time all season NC State scored double digits in the first quarter.

That was something Doeren emphasized during the bye week, and it paid off.

“We need to play better early in the game,” Doeren said Monday. “We are a really good fourth-quarter team, when you look at us statistically, and we’re not a really good first-quarter team. Being able to start the game better is something that sticks out statistically.”

On Saturday, he was happy with the results.

“Really proud of our guys,” Doeren said. “We talked a lot during the bye week about starting fast, working on little things that have really not been efficient but should be through fundamentals, getting guys to play complementary football and really focus on the things that make us a good football team.”

Collin Smith takes over field-goal kicking

Graduate student Collin Smith handles all kickoff duties, but Saturday, he was tabbed with kicking field goals and PATs.

Kanoah Vinesett started eight games for the Wolfpack. He went 25 of 25 on PATs but 11 of 15 on field-goal attempts. He started the season 5 of 5 but has struggled in recent games. He went 0 for 1 against Clemson and missed one field goal in each of the past three contests.

Doeren said on Aug. 14 that Smith was expected to remain the starter on kickoff returns and be Vinesett’s backup for field goals and PATs.

Saturday, Smith looked like a consummate professional against the Cardinal, finishing with one 23-yard field goal and going 8 of 8 on PATs.

Red-zone success

NC State entered the game 24 of 30 inside the red zone, something the team desperately wanted to change. It went 7 of 7 on Saturday and scored on nine consecutive drives.

Three weeks ago, Bailey said it was tough to get inside the Syracuse 30-yard line and then not come up with points.

“We gotta finish,” Bailey said. “We can’t keep getting flags and turning the ball over in the red zone. We had four trips and we didn’t succeed at none. … As an offense, we’ve gotta get better with finishing drives. That’s really the main thing.”

The Wolfpack finished the drives this time, punting just once and backup quarterback Lex Thomas throwing one interception. That played a major role in the win.

Doeren said the team has been “really close” in previous games but acknowledged red zone turnovers and penalties that cost the team, saying “a lot of our mistakes have been really integral in our failure.”

This time, it limited penalties and turnovers while making the most of its opportunities.

“So proud of the team and (I) look forward, you know, to building on this,” Doeren said. “We talked about a five-game season, and we’ve got the first two wins out of those five, and just continue to try to stack those things here as we go.”