Hollywood Smothers #20 of the NC State Wolfpack celebrates his touchdown with teammate Jacarrius Peak #65 during the first half of the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Carter-Finley Stadium on Nov. 2, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
Major breakdowns in every area will leave Stanford with plenty to think about entering the bye week.
The Cardinal lost its sixth straight game Saturday – and its fifth by at least 24 points – in a 59-28 loss at N.C. State Saturday morning.
Once again, Stanford (2-7, 1-5) got off to a slow start, giving up the first 14 points for the fifth straight conference game.
At least this time it had an excuse. The Cardinal was playing at 9 a.m. Pacific Time for the first time this season and playing its fourth game in the Eastern Time Zone in seven weeks, a consequence of its first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Stanford now plays its last three games in the Bay Area – at home against Louisville on Nov. 16, followed by the Big Game at Cal and the season finale at San Jose State.
Whether the Cardinal can take advantage of the shorter trips depends on whether its defense can recover from giving up the seventh-most points in program history, and whether a rotating series of quarterbacks and running backs can help the offense keep up.
“The message is just to continue to compete,” said Stanford coach Troy Taylor, whose record fell to 5-16 with the Cardinal. “There’s no magic player or anything that’s going to save us. We just have to fight. I don’t think we stopped, I really thought they were competing, but the message is come out of the bye and try to finish these last three games strong and get some W’s.”
Here were the biggest issues on Saturday:
DEFENSE EXPOSED
True freshman C.J. Bailey, making his fifth career start, led the Wolfpack (5-4, 2-3) to eight touchdowns and a short field goal in his nine drives before sitting out the final 13 minutes. He completed 18 of 20 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns, with no turnovers.
The lack of a pass rush and clear passing lanes for Bailey left Stanford’s injury-depleted secondary exposed.
“He had a lot of time to throw the ball,” Taylor said. “And this level of quarterback, whether you’re a true freshman or not, he’s really talented, heck of a player. You don’t pressure the quarterback, they’re not going to make any mistakes.”
Two N.C. State running backs also had at least 100 yards rushing and two TDs, including a 94-yard TD run by Jordan Waters.
Stanford’s frustration boiled over in the fourth quarter when junior end David Bailey was ejected for stomping on a Wolfpack player. Immediately after the game, Taylor said he was unsure if there would be further discipline for Bailey, who had two sacks and two forced fumbles.
The Cardinal allowed 62 points at Oregon State last season in Taylor’s first year. The record for an opponent is 72 by UCLA in 1954.
OFFENSE COULDN’T KEEP UP
After true freshman Elijah Brown got the start last week for Stanford, the Cardinal went back to two-year starter Ashton Daniels against N.C. State. The junior scored on touchdown runs of 67 and 48 yards before taking a hard hit while scrambling and leaving the game in the third quarter.
Daniels finished with 129 yards on 11 carries and completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards. But he was hit from behind and lost a fumble on Stanford’s first series, putting the Cardinal in a hole right from the start.
When his 48-yard scoring run got Stanford to 31-21 on the first possession of the second half, N.C. State returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards. One play later the Wolfpack were back up by 17.
Junior Justin Lamson, who normally comes in for short-yardage situations, finished the game in place of Daniels. Taylor said the team wanted to keep the redshirt year open for Brown, who has played in three games.
NEW BLOOD
Freshman running back Cole Tabb, who was ranked as the No. 6 running back in Florida by ESPN, made his debut and ran for 72 yards on 11 carries.
“You want to see how young guys are going to react to this speed and contact, and I thought he rose to the occasion,” Taylor said. “I thought he had some really good runs and ran through some tackles.”
As Stanford enters the bye, each remaining game offers something to play for. It can win its first home game against an FBS opponent in two years when it faces Louisville, reclaim the Axe for the first time since 2020 at Cal, and finish strong against San Jose State.
But offering opportunities to newcomers and inexperienced players like Tabb should also be a priority after Stanford was officially eliminated from bowl contention in Raleigh.
