RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Hollywood Smothers and Jordan Waters each rushed for two touchdowns and quarterback CJ Bailey added three more while being nearly perfect through the air as North Carolina State beat Stanford 59-28 to hand the Cardinal their sixth consecutive loss.
The Wolfpack (2-3 ACC, 5-4) snapped a two-game home losing streak with an overpowering quick-strike start to the second half. North Carolina State scored three touchdowns on four plays, capped by Waters’ 94-yard run that was the second-longest rushing TD in school history.
Bailey, who took over the starting job in midseason after Grayson McCall retired because of head injuries, completed 18 of 20 passes for 234 yards. The freshman from Miami showed a special touch with the long ball, connecting on three passes of more than 25 yards while compiling a 237.8 QB rating before exiting early in the fourth quarter.
During a game in which Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson, last year’s ACC defensive player of the year, was inducted into the NC State Ring of Honor, the Wolfpack started slowly on defense and gave up 398 yards of total offense.
Scoring on three of its first six possessions, Stanford (1-5, 2-7) kept pace behind quarterback Ashton Daniels, who ran for touchdowns of 67 and 48 yards and tied a single-game school record for rushing by a quarterback with 129 yards on 11 carries. The 67-yard rush is the longest by a Stanford quarterback in at least the last 20 years.
But Daniels was injured early in the third quarter on a hit by Kamal Bonner that drew a roughing the passer penalty. Though Daniels returned to the sideline after a trip to the locker room, he was replaced for the remainder of the game by Justin Lamson, who rushed for one touchdown and threw for another.
Buoyed by the rushing of Daniels, Stanford ran over 200 yards and had three touchdowns on the ground, the first time Stanford has done that in a game this season and the first time since 2022. Cole Tabb made his collegiate debut at running back and added 72 yards.
Tevarua Tafiti added a second turnover caused in as many weeks, recording the first interception of his career in the fourth quarter. David Bailey also added two sacks, giving him multiple two-sack games this season. Stanford has not had a player accomplish that feat since James Vaughters in 2014.
It was the first meeting between the schools as Stanford lost its fifth consecutive ACC game since winning its conference debut on Sept. 20.
After a bye week, the Cardinal will play its last home game this season on Nov. 16 against Louisville.