Bailey Ends Sophomore Season with Gasparilla Bowl Win
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TAMPA, Fla. — The loss in the 2024 Military Bowl that ended CJ Bailey's freshman season with NC State ate at the young quarterback for a long time. While he avenged that loss by beating East Carolina in the 2025 season opener, he still wanted to lead the Wolfpack to a bowl win for the first time since 2017.
While it wasn't his best performance of the season, Bailey displayed enough talent to help the Pack beat Memphis 31-7 in Friday's Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, The sophomore passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a 14-yard score on the ground as well.
Bailey finishes the fight
Back in November, the Floridian quarterback and his team made a return to his state of origin to face his hometown team, the Miami Hurricanes. Bailey had one of his worst games of the season and walked away disappointed in the effort he put forward in front of his friends and family. The Gasparilla Bowl offered him another chance to shine in the Sunshine State and he took advantage.
"It's great. This is my second time playing in Florida in my college career and... this game meant a lot to me," Bailey said. "I came in with the mindset that I wanted to win and we did it. We pulled it off and it was a great effort by our team."
Untouched for six!
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) December 19, 2025
📺: ESPN#1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/EWh0gSJiO9
Bailey set the tone early. He showed no fear of a Memphis secondary that came into the game with some concerns after struggling mightily in the final three games of the season. After working the Wolfpack into the red zone with two completions of over 20 yards, Bailey took off to the left on an option play. He darted by the slower Tiger defenders and ran untouched into the end zone for a game-opening touchdown.
The Pack wanted to attack that secondary with deep shots and Bailey met that task. He fired a 31-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Wesley Grimes later in the first quarter. The Wolfpack ended the half with one of those patented Bailey bombs down the sideline, as he found fellow Floridian Teddy Hoffmann for a 40-yard touchdown.
Teddy Hoffmann feeling right at home!
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) December 19, 2025
The 31 points scored by the Wolfpack is the most by a team in a half in @GasparillaBowl history!
📺: ESPN#1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/GEGXYVGejb
"Just game planning throughout the week, we had a feeling... that the safeties were going to play tight, heavy sets and try to fit the run hard," Bailey said. "We were going to be able to get shots and throughout the game, they came to us. Sometimes even though it wasn't completed, it was still there, you know what I mean?... We just took advantage of what they were giving us defensively."
Bailey's growth between his freshman and sophomore year was evident, but so was his growth as the 2025 season carried on. He became increasingly confident within offensive coordinator Kurt Roper's scheme and improved as a leader, something he came into the year wanting to grow.
"Nobody thought this season was gonna be easy," Bailey said. "We went into the season knowing that there were going to be problems, knowing it's going to be hard and it just taught me even when you lose, how are you going to get back on your feet."
The Wolfpack quarterback left his future up to interpretation when asked about it before the bowl game. In two years with NC State, Bailey threw for 5,297 yards, 40 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He also added 494 rushing yards.
It is easy to assume Bailey will be the priority when it comes to retention for NC State in the coming weeks, but the young quarterback said he plans to spend the holidays at home with his family before making any decisions about his future. Even so, he finished his sophomore season the way he wanted to.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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