NC State Beat Cal 31-10 in Raleigh in First Game After Dave Doeren Firing, CJ Bailey Throws Two Touchdowns

NC State beat California 31-10 at Wayne Day Family Field at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday, October 31, 2026, in its first game since head coach Dave Doeren was fired a week earlier. The game was tied 10-10 at halftime, and NC State scored all 21 points in the second half to win the first game under interim head coach Todd Goebbel.

Bailey sets the tone, then takes the game back

Quarterback CJ Bailey finished 13 of 25 for 192 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He opened the scoring early, throwing a 49 yard touchdown pass to Deandre Desinor with 13:29 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Cal pulled the game back to a tie by halftime, but Bailey struck again after the break, throwing a 38 yard touchdown pass to Chance Robinson with 9:40 left in the third quarter to put NC State ahead 17-10, a lead the Wolfpack did not give back.

Darius Johnson scored on a 2 yard run with 11 seconds left in the third quarter, completing a 75 yard drive and making the score 24-10. NC State reached the final 31-10 margin with 9:05 left in the game. Davion Gause had his second career 100 yard rushing game, and his first against a Power Four opponent, as the Wolfpack ground game backed up Bailey in the second half.

The defense closes the door

NC State held Cal to 5 of 18 on third downs, and the defense recorded a second half interception, its first since Brody Barnhardt's against Vanderbilt. Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was 29 of 45 for 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he was sacked three times as Cal's offense stalled after halftime.

The loss was Cal's third straight. Cal falls to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the ACC, while NC State moves to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC.

A first win after a hard week

Doeren had coached NC State for 14 seasons before he was fired a week earlier, and Saturday was the first game of the Goebbel interim run. The Wolfpack answered a tied halftime score with a clean second half on both sides of the ball: two touchdown drives in the third quarter, one more score in the fourth, and a defense that kept Cal off the board for the full second half. For a team that changed coaches in the middle of the season, a 21-0 second half at home is the kind of start the new man in charge needed.