N.C. State makes westward trek to visit California in matchup of 0-3 ACC teams
N.C. State (3-4, 0-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) at California (3-3, 0-3), Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Cal by 10 1/2.
Series record: First meeting.
What’s at stake?
Both teams are midway through October and still looking for their first ACC wins, with pressure increasing to win games for bowl eligibility as well. The Wolfpack and Golden Bears are two of the three winless teams in ACC play, along with North Carolina.
Key matchup
N.C. State pass defense vs. Cal TE Jack Endries. The Bears’ offense has relied heavily on Endries, who has 11 catches for 197 yards and two TDs the past two games. The Wolfpack have allowed only two TD catches to TEs all season and let just one TE — Syracuse’s Oronde Gadsden — catch more than three passes in a game.
Players to watch
N.C. State: QB CJ Bailey. The true freshman and mid-year enrollee has been forced into the lineup amid concussion concerns for Coastal Carolina graduate transfer Grayson McCall. Bailey has shown growth in the past two games in particular, throwing for 272 yards and two touchdowns against Wake Forest and then topping that for a new season high with 329 yards and two more scores against Syracuse last week. He also ran for 43 yards against the Orange.
Cal: CB Nohl Williams. The senior had his nation-leading sixth INT of the season last week at Pittsburgh, tied for the most in a season for a Cal player since Daymeion Hughes had eight in 2006. Williams has a shot at reaching the school record of nine set by Deltha O’Neal in 1999.
Facts & figures
This is the Wolfpack’s first 0-3 start in ACC play since starting 0-4 in 2014. N.C. State had won 34 games overall and gone 23-11 in league play over the previous four seasons. ... N.C. State’s defense had been a multiyear strength, but the unit ranks 90th in the Bowl Subdivision ranks in total defense (382.3 yards) and 113th in scoring defense (32.3). ... N.C. State is playing its first game on the West Coast since visiting UCLA in 1960, though the Wolfpack’s matchup against the Bruins in the 2021 Holiday Bowl in San Diego was called off due to COVID-19 issues within the UCLA program. ... Cal’s three conference losses are by a combined eight points. ... The Bears are tied for the most missed field goals in the country with seven, with Ryan Coe missing two in a five-point loss at Florida State and a potential game-winner from 40 yards last week at Pittsburgh.
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