By the numbers: Inside NC State’s nonconference win over Virginia

By Noah Fleischman

NC State outlasted Virginia with a 35-31 come-from-behind victory to improve to 2-0 on the 2025 campaign Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Let’s take a look at some of the numbers that told the story in the Wolfpack’s non-conference win over the Cavaliers before NC State opens ACC play.

1

Penalties that the Wolfpack committed against the Cavaliers. This was a focus for NC State, which had seven for 63 yards (including back-to-back false starts to open the third quarter) against East Carolina in Week 1. The Pack offense played penalty-free for all 60 minutes. The only infraction against the unit was a facemask on a tackle by redshirt freshman safety Ronnie Royal III. NC State’s ability to keep itself ahead of the chains without beating itself on offense showed in a major way against Virginia. 

3 

The number of red zone touchdowns NC State’s offense scored. The Wolfpack was perfect on its trips inside the 20-yard line, finding the end zone on all three of its trips. This was another step forward for Kurt Roper and the Pack offense, which was 3-for-4 in the red zone in Week 1, but had to settle for a field goal for one of those scoring opportunities last week. Good teams score touchdowns inside the 20-yard line, just as NC State’s unit did Saturday.

8 

The number of missed tackles forced by redshirt sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers against the Cavaliers. The former Oklahoma transfer is one of NC State’s most elusive players, and he proved it yet again. Smothers forced six missed tackles as a ball carrier, while he added two more as a receiver in the pass game.

15

Missed tackles by NC State’s defense. The Wolfpack only had four such plays in Week 1, but it struggled, at times, to get the Cavaliers on the ground. Redshirt senior linebacker Sean Brown led the Pack with four missed tackles, while redshirt junior nickel Jackson Vick and Royal had two each. 

32 

NC State’s home non-conference wins under Dave Doeren. The Wolfpack has now won 30 of its last 31 such contests inside Carter-Finley Stadium. Its most-recent such loss came in a 45-24 defeat by then-No. 10 Notre Dame during the 2023 campaign. NC State has one home non-conference game remaining on this season’s schedule: a date with FCS foe Campbell on Oct. 4.

68 %

Virginia’s third-down conversion rate against NC State. The Cavaliers excelled on third down in the first half with a 10-for-13 showing, including five conversions with at least seven yards to go. NC State’s defense, however, limited Virginia to a 3-for-6 effort on third down in the final two quarters.

90.0

Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey’s ESPN QBR in the victory. It marked the signal-caller’s second-highest rating of his career, only to be outdone by his 98.4 in the 59-28 win over Stanford last fall. To put it in perspective, Bailey’s mark this weekend was the 10th-best of any FBS quarterback and the second-highest for any-signal caller against a Power Conference team. 

ESPN’s QBR ratings by scale: Excellent or Pro Bowl-caliber (75 and up), average (50), subpar (25 or less).

200 

Bailey’s passing yards against Virginia, the ninth game of his career with at least that many yards through the air. He has now eclipsed the mark in each of his last four games, including 318 yards in Week 1 against East Carolina. Bailey’s confidence in the pass game has translated into him becoming an efficient signal-caller — he was 16-for-23 against the Cavaliers. 

56,919

NC State’s 22nd-consecutive sellout at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack has not played in front of an under-capacity home crowd since the 2022 campaign. Its fan base has consistently shown up to cheer on the program over the past three seasons.

Fit, feel, setting statistics

Record by uniform combination

White-Red-Red (City of Oaks): 1-0
White-Red-White: 1-0

Record by kickoff time:

12:00 p.m.: 1-0
7:00 p.m.: 1-0

Record by TV network:

ACC Network: 1-0
ESPN2: 1-0

Record by venue:

Carter-Finley Stadium: 2-0
Away: 0-0