Wolfpack Struggles Mightily in Ugly Loss to Miami

While Bailey came out and fired a pass for the first down right out of the gate, a false start penalty set NC State up behind the sticks. The first drive stalled, but the Wolfpack hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come offensively.

Unfortunately, it was. The Wolfpack's sophomore quarterback quickly turned his homecoming into a nightmare outing. After the defense held Miami to a field goal, Bailey came back out and fired an interception on a ball forced to tight end Justin Joly. Miami safety Jakobe Thomas ran it back for a 60-yard touchdown to give the Hurricanes a 10-0 lead.

On the next drive, Bailey looked like he had collected himself. However, he felt the pressure on a second-down play and threw another ugly interception to Thomas.

While Miami's offense struggled to find its footing in the first quarter, the Wolfpack offense imploded.

Second Quarter

Things quickly devolved the way they did against Notre Dame a few weeks ago. Quick turnovers and three-and-out drives for the Wolfpack exhausted the defense, allowing Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson to open up the playbook and torch the Pack. The Hurricane offense scored its first touchdown after a Malachi Toney 43-yard pass set up a punishing run from CharMar Brown to give the Canes a 17-0 lead.

Things didn't get any better for NC State's offense. The Wolfpack finished the first half with just 82 total yards, including just nine yards on the ground. Even with Hollywood Smothers back in the mix, the offense still struggled to get things going in any way in terms of rushing.

Late in the first half, Bailey took off on a third-down and dove for the sticks, but was ruled just short. Already trailing 17-0, Doeren still elected to punt it away and try to keep it a three-score game. The decision backfired, as Miami drove down the field and Beck hit Toney for a 14-yard score to put the Hurricanes up 24-0 just before halftime.

Third Quarter

Miami kept its foot on the gas pedal in the second half, knowing it needed style points to ensure a better chance of making the College Football Playoff. Beck opened the half with another methodical touchdown drive, ultimately finding Elija Lofton for a 29-yard touchdown.

NC State ended the first three quarters with just five first downs, while Miami converted 20 of them. After scoring 48 points against Georgia Tech two weeks prior, the Wolfpack offense regressed to its worst showing of the season, somehow plummeting even lower than the seven-point effort against Notre Dame.

Fourth Quarter

NC State still hadn't crossed the 50-yard line or topped 100 yards of offense by the time the fourth quarter got underway. As the Hurricanes ran the score up in the second half, the Wolfpack's best win of the season lost some of its luster. Georgia Tech slogged through another ACC matchup against Boston College, the worst team in the conference.

Beck made up for the lost touchdown to Toney in the third quarter and found his freshman wide receiver for his second score of the afternoon to make it 41-0. The Wolfpack finally crossed the 50-yard line with under five minutes in the game. Bailey was able to get a score before the end of the game, as he rushed for a 10-yard touchdown just before the two-minute timeout.

Final Stats

Miami

• Carson Beck: 21-of-27, 291 yards, three touchdowns
• Malachi Toney: five receptions, 54 yards, two touchdowns, one 44-yard completion
• Girard Pringle Jr.: 17 carries for 116 yards

NC State

• CJ Bailey: 17-of-30, 120 yards, two interceptions, one rushing touchdown
• Hollywood Smothers: seven carries for -2 yards
• Terrell Anderson: four receptions for 25 yards
• Duke Scott: seven carries for 14 yards, three receptions for 40 yards