Stanford football unable to contain NC State's star power

NC State's offense showed out and caused a lot of trouble for Stanford on Saturday

Oct 12, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson (8) runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

The challenge of being in the ACC continues for Stanford. Hitting the road to face NC State, the Cardinal (2-6, 1-5 ACC) were ultimately unable to come away with the win, as the Wolfpack’s high-powered offense led to a 59-28 loss for Stanford on Saturday afternoon.

Putting up 527 yards of offense for the game, including scoring 31 points in the first half, the Cardinal struggled to contain the star studded NC State, with quarterback CJ Bailey throwing for 234 yards and three touchdowns in addition to two of their running backs rushing for over 100 yards, with Jordan Waters carrying the ball five times for 115 yards and two touchdowns and Hollywood Smothers carrying the ball 16 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns. 

“They were good in all areas,” Taylor said of NC State’s offense. “They were able to run the ball, they had some explosive runs, they protected the quarterback really well. He was on his feet pretty much the entire game and had clear throwing lanes. If you’re them, you come away thinking you played about as good as you can offensively so I’m sure they’re happy with that. Obviously us, we’ve got to do something to be able to pressure the quarterback a little bit and stop the run. Just the fundamental things that you’ve got to do to be a good team.”

A dominant first half from the Wolfpack had them up 31-14 going into the break and giving Stanford the opportunity to make the necessary adjustments in order to try and mount a comeback. However, NC State had other ideas as it scored 28 more points in the second half, with the most notable play being a 94 yard touchdown run from Waters, and managed to really pull away and add even more onto their lead.

“We did not get a stop until the fourth quarter with Tev’s [Tevarua Tafiti] interception,” Taylor said. “We weren’t able to really slow them down. There were a number of issues, but no pressure on the quarterback, he had a lot of time to throw the ball and this level of quarterback, whether you’re a true freshman or not, he's really talented and [he’s] a heck of a player. If you don’t pressure the quarterback, they’re not going to make any mistakes. And he had a lot of time to throw and he did a great job…so we just never really got any stops.”

Stanford’s first touchdown came in the first quarter after falling behind 14-0, when Ashton Daniels ran it 67 yards for the score with 2:56 left in the quarter to cut the deficit to only 14-7. In the second quarter, Justin Lamson scored the team’s second touchdown when he took a snap on a QB keep in the red zone and ran it in three yards to make it 17-14. In the third quarter, down 31-14, Daniels scored his second touchdown of the game and Stanford’s third when he once again ran the ball for a big gain, this time for 48 yards, as he scored six and helped make it 31-21.

He did it AGAIN!

48 yards this time for @ashton_d12 🔥#GoStanford | @accnetwork https://t.co/qgrWUhlvcc pic.twitter.com/SDwQ7HX6Dj

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) November 2, 2024

However, Daniels would soon leave the game with a head injury, getting hit hard on a roughing the passer penalty in the third quarter, forcing him out for the rest of the game. With Lamson and Elijah Brown both available, Stanford opted to have Lamson be the quarterback for the rest of the game.

“Elijah still has the ability to redshirt and play one more game,” Taylor said. “So we think that’s something we should keep in mind. And so that was the main thing. Just kind of off the top of my head, I thought [Ashton] played pretty well, he ran the ball well. I thought he threw the ball well, he only missed one read. It was actually on the play that he got hurt. But other than that, I thought he played really well and really tough. He’s such a tough kid and a competitor. And Justin came in and he also was very tough and courageous in running the ball.”

Stanford capped their scoring off late in the fourth quarter when Lamson found Elic Ayomanor open for a 14 yard touchdown, but by then, it was already 59-28 and the game was well in hand. Defensively, Tevarua Tafiti recorded the only stop, intercepting a CJ Bailey pass in the fourth quarter, building off of his strong game from last week. The defense also recorded two sacks and forced two fumbles, however the fumbles were recovered by the offense. Linebacker David Bailey, the team’s sack leader, was disqualified from the contest in the second half and while he was able to stay on the sideline, was ineligible to play for the rest of the game.

Now at 2-7 with three games to play, a bowl game is officially out of the cards for Stanford, who will now use the rest of this season to finish strong and build for a stronger year in 2025. Onto a bye week, the Cardinal will next play at home against Louisville on November 16.