Clemson blows out NC State, 59-35, as Wolfpack opens ACC play with a stunning loss

Several N.C. State players hung their heads as the team walked off the field at halftime Saturday, trailing Clemson, 45-7. The team looked dejected, uninspired.

The Pack didn’t look any happier walking off the field at the conclusion of the game.

The team hoped to win in Death Valley for the first time since 2002, but instead looked no better than Appalachian State did two weeks ago.

N.C. State (2-2, 0-1 ACC) lost to Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC), 59-35, in the Wolfpack’s conference opener Saturday. True freshman quarterback CJ Bailey got his first career start against the Tigers, but he didn’t get much help as the Wolfpack finished with its worst performance of the season.

The defense, which had a pick-six in its past two games, made a negligible impact against Clemson. It gave up 524 yards for an average of 7.9 yards per play. At halftime, the Pack had allowed 408 yards, more than it gave up in the entire 2023 matchup.

N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said players didn’t fit the run properly, tackle well and weren’t aggressive in coverage.

“It looked like we were on our heels. I’m not sure why,” Doeren said. “Obviously, they had a bye week. They had some new things, but we didn’t use the rules of our system well. We’ve got to be better than that. That’s not who we are on defense. I know Coach (Tony) Gibson is sick to his stomach right now about it, and you know the film’s going to tell us a lot.”

On offense, those around Bailey couldn’t consistently block or make the routine plays that would have put N.C. State back in the game. It notched 440 yards, which is more than what it did last season, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the defensive issues.

The team put together a solid drive early in the fourth quarter — before Clemson replaced everyone — featuring a 24-yard reception by Justin Joly and 21-yard rush from Hollywood Smothers, but the positives will be overshadowed by the rest of the gains.

“Give Clemson credit, they outplayed us today, you know?” Doeren added. “When that happens, they out-coached us. Like I’ve always said, it starts and ends with me, and we’ve got to get better. No, we’re not going to panic. We’re 2-2. There’s a lot of football left in the season. We do have some good players, and we need to get back to playing better.”

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Pack unable to overcome another slow start

N.C. State’s offense struggled to get into a rhythm for the fourth consecutive game, scoring 10 total first-quarter points this season. Saturday’s game was the second of the season where the Pack didn’t score at all in the first 15 minutes. The first took place against Tennessee.

The struggles can’t be put on Bailey, who, all things considered, performed with poise.

“CJ is not to blame for the loss. I can tell you that he did some good things, and that’s a tough environment for first start. He was not intimidated one bit,” Doeren said. “He had good energy, good spirit. When he made a mistake, he stayed the same way as he did when he made a play. He’s going to grow a lot from that game.”

Instead, it seemed like everything else went wrong. The blocking game lacked toughness, which led to a sack and fumble in the first quarter. Clemson scored a 2-yard touchdown on the error.

On the following drive, wide receiver KC Concepcion fumbled the ball. Tigers running back Phil Mafa recorded the 38-yard rushing touchdown to take a 28-0 lead, the most first-quarter points scored by a Wolfpack opponent in program history.

N.C. State’s run game was virtually nonexistent in the first frame, too. The offense picked up 94 total yards but only 4 came on the ground, averaging 0.4 yards gained per attempt. It didn’t get much better in the second, averaging 2.8 per carry, so the decision to continue running the football seemed illogical when Clemson’s starters were on the field.

On the opposite side, the Pack allowed the Tigers to gain 222 yards in the first quarter, roughly two-thirds of the total yardage it allowed in the 2023 game.

“Obviously, they didn’t challenge us a lot with their offense in the second half, but our offense got things going,” Doeren said. “They ran the football welll, threw the ball around a little bit. It. We got to see some young players get some really valuable time. We had to move a lot of pieces on the O-line. I thought those guys performed well. That’s a lot to ask.”

The Wolfpack scored three times in the final quarter, but starts like that — from either side of the football — won’t win very many games.

CJ Bailey shows toughness in starting debut

Bailey became the first true freshman to start for N.C. State in an ACC road game since Philip Rivers did in 2000. The rookie earned the job after graduate quarterback Grayson McCall left the Louisiana Tech game with an injury.

Just like last week, Bailey and the Wolfpack offense had to play from behind. Bailey couldn’t, however, power the team to a comeback victory this time.

The final score doesn’t accurately reflect Bailey’s performance.

“I learned that I got more fight than I really thought I had,” Bailey said after the game, a big smile on his face. “I’m really a good leader. I really didn’t see it before. … I noticed that the team go off my energy. I had a lot of great energy for the offense, and offense said they had my back. That’s what I learned about myself. Moving forward, I want to keep that going.”

The freshman looked mature in the backfield against a tough Clemson team. He started 10 of 11 passing, including seven straight, and added four explosive passing plays for 98 yards. His first play of the game was a 14-yard pass to Jordan Waters for a first down.

He ended the game 16 of 25 passing for 204 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

Bailey took off several times during the game as well in an attempt to manufacture yards. It didn’t always work; He ended the game with negative rushing yards.

The freshman, however, looked confident and didn’t allow mistakes to rattle him. His future is beyond bright.

Wolfpack bailed out by penalties

Clemson fans booed after running back Kendrick Raphael ran the ball into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown with 6 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter. N.C. State picked up 41 yards on the scoring drive after officials called three pass interference penalties on the Tigers.

A Clemson face mask penalty in the second quarter gave N.C. State’s offense a free first down and extended its drive. The Pack turned that opportunity into a 5-yard touchdown.

The Wolfpack wasn’t in scoring position for most of the game, finishing behind midfield on six drives and four in the first half. Basically, the team needed those penalties or the final score would have been much worse.