Failing Grades For NC State's Offense Against Miami
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RALEIGH — NC State put together what was easily its worst offensive performance of the season in Saturday's road matchup against Miami. The Wolfpack's poor performance helped the Hurricanes move to No. 14 in the latest iteration of the AP Top 25 poll.
After two weeks of buildup for sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey's homecoming to South Florida and Miami, his performance was nothing short of a disaster. The offense failed to move the ball beyond the 50-yard line until late in the fourth quarter and didn't score until the game was nearly over.
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) November 15, 2025
Pro Football Focus grades each member of the team's performance during the game. The model takes into account every play in the game and adds it all up to create the player's total grade. Any grade from the 70s to 80s is considered a good performance. The 60s are average. Below 60 would be poor, and above 80 would be elite.
How PFF View NC State's Nightmare Offensive Performance
The Offensive Line
- Freshman right guard Spike Sowells Jr. - 64.2
- Junior left tackle Jacarrius Peak - 57.6
- Senior left guard Anthony Carter Jr. - 57.6
- Graduate senior center Jalen Grant - 57.3
- Sophomore right tackle Teague Andersen - 56.3
- Junior right guard Val Erickson - 48.5
- Sophomore left guard Kamen Smith - 33.2
If NC State was going to stun the Hurricanes and beat a second-straight ranked opponent, it needed stellar play from its offensive line. Unfortunately for Bailey and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, the group collapsed against one of the nation's top defensive lines. While Bailey only got sacked once, he was pressured 15 times in the game.
Sowells returned from injury and performed admirably against the onslaught from the Hurricanes, finishing with the highest grade in the group. It was a particularly rough day for one of the steadiest members of the group, as Peak finished with a pass protection score of 40.1. It was the first grade below 70 in that category he's received all season.
The Wide Receivers
- Freshman Teddy Hoffmann - 70.3
- Sophomore Terrell Anderson - 70.1
- Sophomore Keenan Jackson. - 59.3
- Senior Wesley Grimes - 49.0
- Sophomore Noah Rogers - 41.6
Typically on a day when the quarterback only throws for 120 yards and adds a pair of interceptions, it also means it was a rough day for the wide receiver corps. That was certainly the case for the Wolfpack on Saturday, as none of the pass catchers finished with more than 25 yards in the game.
Hoffmann finished as the highest-graded offensive player despite catching two passes for just nine yards in the loss. Rogers followed up a season-best performance against Georgia Tech with his worst performance of the season, dropping one of his three targets. Miami's defensive backs hounded the receivers successfully and didn't allow any explosive plays.
The Tight Ends
- Senior Cody Hardy - 54.6
- Senior Justin Joly - 54.0
- Senior Dante Daniels - 52.0
After Hardy and Daniels stepped up in a major way against Georgia Tech, the group was overmatched by the Hurricane defense. All three players struggled to run block, as did the entire offensive line, but without the tight ends being able to generate some push, the run game was a complete debacle.
Joly returned to catch just one pass and was targeted on the play that turned into a pick-six for Miami safety Jakobe Thomas. Bailey looked down his star tight end and fired a duck right into the hands of the defensive back. As the score became more lopsided, the group was forced into more pass protection situations, where they performed slightly better.
The Running Backs
- Redshirt freshman Duke Scott - 64.2
- Sophomore Hollywood Smothers - 54.9
Smothers' return to action was not a successful outing. The Hurricanes stuffed Smothers on every rushing attempt and the star back finished losing yardage in the game. The Pack turned to Scott as its top rusher continued to struggle and the redshirt freshman provided some much-needed relief. The team rushed for just 23 yards in the game.
The Quarterback
- Sophomore CJ Bailey - 46.8
Bailey's return turned from a potentially special moment to an unmitigated disaster quickly. In fact, it took less than a quarter for the sophomore to throw two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and dig a hole for the Wolfpack that was far too deep to crawl out of.
As Miami's pressure ramped up, Bailey appeared to get happy feet and struggled to throw under pressure. The sophomore finished the game 4-of-11 with an interception when throwing under pressure. He totaled just 14 yards on those four completions. Bailey was far from the quarterback he played like against Georgia Tech.
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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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