College Football’s Week Four:
DG’s “Pick 6” Includes NC State’s Trip To Clemson,
Aggie-Eagle Classic, Duke/UNC Seeking 4-0 Starts
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
Each week during college football season, we offer a “Pick Six” package of intriguing matchups — three “local” games that include one or more North Carolina-based team and three “national” contests that involve the Atlantic Coast Conference and/or the most prominent intersectional games.
Week Four: Top “Local” Games
Game Four
NC State (2-1) at Clemson (1-1), noon (ABC/ESPN+)
Latest Betting Line: Tigers a 20-point favorite
If a long-time ACC observer were asked to tap into the Evil Genius aspect of his or her personality and draw up the most difficult on-the-field challenge possible for one of the league’s football players, it might look something like this:
Ask a true freshman, specifically at the quarterback position, to make his first college start on the road, against a nationally ranked team, one with a bunch of future National Football League athletes on its defense, in one of the league’s most hostile environments. Let’s put the game on a prominent channel in a popular national television window, too, just to maximize the pressure and scrutiny on the young guy.
Sure enough, those are the circumstances this week for the Wolfpack’s first-year quarterback, CJ Bailey, who is an impressive physical specimen at 6-foot-6 and 190 pounds but who, in an ideal set of circumstances, probably would have redshirted this year behind the Coastal Carolina transfer QB, Grayson McCall.
McCall, who missed the Chanticleers’ final six games of last season with a concussion, was injured in the Wolfpack’s closer-than-expected 30-20 comeback win over Louisiana Tech last week. It’s not clear when he’ll be ready to play again.
Last week, Bailey was inserted for the Wolfpack’s final two first-half possessions against Louisiana Tech, and he had a really rough start — three-and-out on the first possession, then an interception on the second possession that led to a field goal for the Bulldogs.
The Wolfpack trailed Tech 17-6 at halftime, but the intermission at least allowed the Wolfpack coaches and Bailey himself to process that he was going to have to be The Guy in the second half.
To that entire group’s credit, they made the most of a very difficult situation. On the Wolfpack’s four offensive possessions in the second half, they went 1-touchdown, 2-field goal, 3-touchdown and 4-a run-out-the-clock-to-preserve-the-win set of downs.
On the first TD drive, Bailey hit wide receivers Dacari Collins, Wesley Grimes and KC Concepcion twice each, plus running back Jordan Waters out of the backfield once. On the second TD drive, the young QB also hit wide receiver Noah Rogers and tight end Justin Joly for long gains, so Bailey really spread the ball around in impressive fashion.
For the game, Bailey ended up completing 13 of 20 passing attempts for 156 yards and an interception statistically, but most importantly he gained that experience while leading a comeback victory in a fairly stressful situation.
Obviously, playing Clemson at Death Valley this week presents an entirely different animal. In the last 20 years of this rivalry, Clemson has won 16 times and NC State only three, although the Wolfpack have won two of the past three in this series.
The Tigers have one of the best defenses in the ACC, and they’re coming off an open week, after their 66-20 demolition of Appalachian State. It would be a shock if the Wolfpack came away with an upset on Saturday.
Just remember this about Bailey in the long run. He was a three-time first-team all-state player and a two-time state champion while leading Chaminade Madonna Prep, a small, private school in Hollywood, Fla. He was not considered an elite recruit, likely because he played in Florida’s small-school classification.
However, Bailey played so well as a high school senior that the Miami Hurricanes came calling with a late scholarship offer, many months after Bailey had committed to the Wolfpack and just about one month before National Signing Day.
Obviously, Bailey stuck with his Wolfpack commitment, and now he’s front and center for coach Dave Doeren’s club, just a few games into his true freshman campaign. Let’s see how he handles the Evil Genius Challenge on Saturday.
Game Five
James Madison (2-0) at North Carolina (3-0), noon (ACCN)
Latest Betting Line: Tar Heels a 10-point favorite
Veteran head coach Mack Brown and the Tar Heels are in a classic good-news, bad-news situation.
The good news is, under some very difficult circumstances, including injuries, subpar play and unpredictable chaos at the quarterback position, they have figured out a way to beat Minnesota on the road, then Charlotte and NC Central at Kenan Stadium.
The defense and special teams have been pretty good, and the offense has been “good enough,” so against James Madison they have a legit chance to start 4-0 before their ACC schedule begins, and — style points aside — it doesn’t get any better than 4-0.
The bad news is, at the most important position on the field, they’ve lost their starter, transfer Max Johnson, for the entire season because of his broken leg at Minnesota. The next man up, Conner Harrell, has never shown the ability to run a functional passing attack at the college level, and even NC Central — a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent — was able to expose that Saturday.
UNC actually was stuck in a 17-10 game against Central into the fourth quarter before third-string QB Jacoby Criswell, a guy who hasn’t taken many meaningful snaps in his entire five-year college career, bailed out the Tar Heels against the Eagles.
To his credit, Criswell often looked poised and confident in the passing game, although obviously UNC rode superstar running back Omarion Hampton (25 carries, 210 yards, three touchdowns) to victory.
After UNC did nothing with Harrell at the controls against NC Central, Criswell led three straight first-half scoring drives, mostly by complementing Hampton’s running with short passes to talented tight end Bryson Nesbit and Carolina’s wideouts, including senior star JJ Jones (a recent David Glenn Show guest).
In the second half, Harrell returned for another possession — that resulted in another punt — and then Criswell led three touchdown drives in the fourth quarter as the Tar Heels pulled away. Importantly, Criswell hit downfield passes to wide receiver Christian Hamilton and both of UNC’s top tight ends, Nesbit and John Copenhaver, although even during the Heels’ fourth-quarter flurry it was much more about their running game, which won’t be able to dominate ACC opponents the way it ultimately rolled over NC Central.
James Madison likely will be a much tougher test for the Tar Heels this week. The Dukes are 2-0 and playing very good defense so far this season. In an interesting twist, one of JMU’s best offensive players, running back George Pettway, is a UNC transfer in his first season with the Dukes.
It probably will be up to UNC’s defense and special teams to carry the day once more, as the Tar Heels try to find themselves on offense, either with Criswell or Harrell or perhaps even their fourth-stringer, true freshman Michael Merdinger, at the controls.
That group of players is obviously key to the remainder of the Carolina season, and it’s not yet clear if the Tar Heels have any QB who’s capable of leading them to a quality record against ACC opponents, starting next week, when they travel to Duke.
Game Six
North Carolina A&T (1-2) at NC Central (1-2), 7 pm (ESPNU)
Latest Betting Line: Eagles a two-point favorite
The “Aggie-Eagle Classic” is one of the great historical rivalries in our state.
North Carolina A&T and NC Central are the two largest historically black colleges and universities in North Carolina, and they’ve been playing each other in football and other sports for more than 100 years now, dating all the way back to 1922.
The tailgating experience that surrounds this matchup offers a lot of amazing food, great music and wonderful fans. Both schools have great bands, cheerleaders and dance teams that add to the rivalry’s pageantry and fun factor.
We at the North Carolina Sports Network will be part of the buildup to this game again Saturday with our “Old North State Tailgate and Traveling Sports Circus,” which will be set up from 5-7 pm in the track and field area next to O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium. This mobile carnival comes with tents, banners, prizes, giveaways and our popular Football Toss Challenge (compete with DG himself!), plus coupons and other goodies from our friends at Moe’s Original BBQ.
Moe’s Original BBQ has about 50 locations nationwide, including nine here in the Carolinas. There’s one in Durham, one in Wilmington — shout-out to our friend, Robert Ray, down by the beach — one in Hendersonville, and two in the greater Asheville area.
Although North Carolina A&T (53-37-5) has had the advantage in this gridiron rivalry historically, NC Central has managed to swing the pendulum back to its side under head coach Trei Oliver, a former star player for the Eagles.
After the Aggies won seven of 10 head-to-head matchups from 2011 through 2021, the Eagles have captured the last two games in this series — including last year in Greensboro and the previous year in Charlotte. Now the game is back on the Eagles’ home field in Durham, where they’ll try to make it three in a row.
This time, though, NCCU will have to try to do it without star quarterback Davius Richard, one of the best players in program history. As a senior last year, he was an FCS All-American, and he was a two-time MEAC Offensive Player of the Year.
NC Central’s main man offensively so far this year has been All-MEAC running back J’Mari Taylor, a redshirt junior from West Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte. On the Aggies’ side, the top dog has been running back Wesley Graves, who went over 100 yards in A&T’s victory over Winston-Salem State.
