NC State had the kind of afternoon that can turn a promising game into a brutal what-if in a hurry.
The Wolfpack’s offense, which had gone missing in the end zone last week against Duke, showed real life against Syracuse. Duke Scott, back after being limited earlier this season by injury, looked explosive again and finished with 127 rushing yards. Scott, Davion Gause and CJ Bailey all found the end zone with their legs, giving NC State plenty of reasons to believe it had control.
Bailey’s rushing score came late in the first half, when he tucked the ball and sprinted 9 yards past the Orange defense for an easy touchdown with 3:40 left before halftime.
But Syracuse kept hanging around, and the game never really loosened its grip. The Orange traded scores with NC State in the second half, then made the biggest play of the day when Bailey threw a pick-six late in the fourth quarter. Tunmise Adeleye took it 18 yards untouched to the end zone, swinging the game back to Syracuse.
Steve Angeli kept the Orange in striking distance throughout, throwing for 272 yards and two touchdowns. His 11-yard touchdown pass to Justus Ross-Simmons with 48 seconds left helped keep Syracuse alive down the stretch. Bailey, meanwhile, was under heavy pressure in the fourth quarter and couldn’t consistently answer.
Then came the final blow. On NC State’s last drive, with a chance to get into position to tie the game, Bailey committed his second turnover of the day and closed the door on the Wolfpack in a 34-31 Syracuse win.
Turnovers have been a painful theme for NC State this season, and Bailey has now watched two wins slip away because of costly mistakes at the wrong time. Interim head coach Todd Goebbel now has to try to steady a team coming off a loss that stings in every possible way.
There were signs of life for NC State against a Syracuse team that is better than its record shows, but the result still landed as a damaging one for Goebbel’s program, which has tried to keep itself away from the Philip Rivers noise.
At this point, the path to a bowl game is narrow. NC State needs to win its final two games to have any shot, and that feels like a long climb right now. The next headline on the calendar is Philip Rivers’ introductory press conference at 1:30 pm ET on Monday.
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CJ Baileys late turnovers opened the door for Syracuse, and linebacker Chris DAppolonia made the play that slammed it shut with the game-sealing interception. The loss left NC State at 4-6 with two games left, turning what looked like a manageable path to a bowl into a must-scramble finish. [Read more 🡒]