Bailey, Smothers lead N.C. State comeback against Virginia, 35-31

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — CJ Bailey rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another as North Carolina State defeated visiting Virginia 35-31 on Saturday in a non-league clash between two Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

Bailey, the sophomore quarterback for the Wolfpack (2-0), completed 16-of-22 passes for 200 yards and rushed for 44 yards on six carries. N.C. State's offense was also bolstered by Hollywood Smothers, who rumbled for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“It was great to see Hollywood get in the mix and do a lot for this team. He’s one of our important players on offense and we need him for the rest of the year,” Bailey said. “We just knew we had to get physical. The offensive line created lanes and holes for Hollywood. I just credit the offensive line for everything, pass protection and run blocking, they did it all.”

Virginia (1-1) was powered by J'Mari Taylor's 150 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Chandler Morris completed 30-of-43 passes for 257 yards and a score.

After falling behind by 10 points, N.C. State's offense sprang to life in the second half, outscoring Virginia 21-7 in the third quarter thanks to two rushing touchdowns from Smothers and one by Bailey. The Wolfpack held the Cavaliers scoreless in the final quarter, and got a crucial stop on fourth-and-1 on the 8-yard line with 6:39 to play, paving the way for N.C. State to drain more than four minutes off the clock.

The win was sealed when N.C. State's Cian Slone intercepted a desperate throw by Morris in the end zone.

“They made a critical play and we didn’t," Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. "No moral victories. We came down here to win, non-conference or not, and we came up short.”

NC State: Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren is now 4-0 all-time against the Cavaliers. The victory for the Wolfpack marks the first time since 2014 that they've started a season 2-0 with both wins coming against FBS opponents.

Virginia: The Cavaliers' offense was running efficiently early on as they converted 10 of their first 13 third down tries on their way to building a 10-point advantage. From there though, Virginia found success just three times on six third-down attempts. The Cavaliers have not beaten N.C. State since 2012.

This matchup between the Wolfpack and Cavaliers marked the first time since 1948 that the two sides met in a non-conference clash. Originally, N.C. State was set to visit Appalachian State on this date, but the Wolfpack canceled, citing guidance from the ACC to play more Power Four programs in the non-conference slate.

The ACC is the only Power Four conference that doesn’t — or hasn’t announced an intent to — play nine league games. Because the ACC has 17 football members, the math doesn’t work for an increase in conference matchups. That could make games like this more common.

“I’m all for playing all conference games. We’re in the ACC, let’s play each other every week and see who the best team is," Doeren said. "But I know I’m not everybody, and everybody has their things — like some of them have SEC rivalry games, and Notre Dame screws up our scheduling because they get five games in our league... I think nowadays, if you have a goal being a playoff team, you got to play 10 Power Four games. You got to have strength to schedule.”

NC State: The Wolfpack travel to rival Wake Forest on Thursday.

Virginia: William & Mary visits the Cavaliers next Saturday.

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