Backup quarterback CJ Bailey is leading a struggling offense - Source: Getty
One of the most interesting games of the first slate involved NC State against Wake Forest. The Wolfpack certainly have more talent on the roster, but although they boast a positive record, it's clear that they're playing below expectations, especially with injuries to Grayson McCall.
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Wake Forest, on the other hand, is seeing a good improvement from senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier, but the talent gap looked massive from the start. However, as the game went on, the Demon Deacons simply refused to give up and moved the ball well, making this a more difficult game than expected.
In the end, however, the Wolfpack failed to transform their advantage into a win, leading into a massive upset for the Demon Deacons. Certainly, a lot of parlays were lost due to this game.
The upset was starting to get real in the second quarter, as the Wolfpack struggled to get anything going defensively. As the Demon Deacons consistently moved the ball up and down the field, it looked like NC State could never adjust to the way they were attacking.
Wake Forest amassed an excellent 5.2 yards per carry and, especially in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Demon Deacons would really get their second win of the season. That's exactly what happened: even though their defense is below average, NC State failed to control the game through the trenches.
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3.6 yards per carry in a game where your starting quarterback was carted off the field is never going to help you win. And that's not the reason why the Wolfpack were upset, especially as CJ Bailey did have some good moments. He finished with 28 out of 42 completions, two touchdowns and one interception.
This is a game where NC State will look back later in the season and be really disappointed. They were the better team, they were playing at home and they had all the opportunities in the world to win.
Ultimately, this is another game were Dave Doeren will have to do some soul-searching as to why and how they left it escape from their hands. What happened on Saturday was a tough pill to swallow, and their bowl hopes could be dashed due to losses like this.
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About the author
Henrique Bulio
Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.
Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.
If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.
Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.
Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.
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