Well, that was fun! After an encouraging 48-7 trouncing of Coastal Carolina, the Virginia Cavaliers have a taller task ahead of them: NC State on the road.
As you may have heard by now, this is a non-conference matchup between the pair of ACC teams. Shoutout to conference realignment and last minute scheduling modifications!
Regardless, every game is pivotal for Tony Elliott and his long-term implications as the head coach of the UVA football program. Under Elliott, the ‘Hoos peaked at five wins in 2024,
and as far as many see it, anything less than seven victories in the 2025 regular season (barring one of those wins being against Virginia Tech, perhaps) would put the writing on the wall for him.
NC State ended up holding on against East Carolina in their opening game, 24-17. The Wolfpack started off with a commanding 17-0 lead in the first half, diminishing what was shaping up to be a hard-fought, emotional contest. Dave Doeren’s boys ended up taking their foot off the gas, allowing for the Pirates to provide a respectable showing, but the consensus among those that watched the game was that NCSU was clearly the better team.
Here’s what you need to know about this upcoming matchup:
Three Players
QB CJ Bailey
Bailey is coming off of an erratic, yet impressive freshman season, and a similar week one, where he completed 24 of his 34 passes for 318 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, while adding 21 yards and a house call on the ground.
Bailey is an excellent runner, and especially difficult to bring down in the open field with his 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame and open field elusiveness. Even if that element is contained, Bailey is more than capable of sitting in the pocket and making accurate throws downfield. He showed the ability to remain poised and come through in the clutch multiple times in his freshman season.
It must be said that there are still moments that Bailey’s youth proves to be evident. He threw 10 interceptions in 2024, and added another in the East Carolina game, which does not include a couple more throws that easily could have been turnovers as well. Bailey has the tendency to stare down receivers, which opponents have clearly noted in their scouting.
Watching CJ Bailey is an experience and we can expect to see some high highs and low lows during any given game.
TE Justin Joly
Considering how increasingly rare it is to return major production at a skill position in college football, getting Joly back for his senior season is one of the best things NC State accomplished this offseason. After a monster year at UConn in 2023, Joly built on his success in 2024 for the Pack, hauling in 43 passes for 661 yards and four touchdowns.
As another guy who moves well for his size, the 6-foot-3, 251-pounder is an exceptional route runner and particularly a deep threat. The preseason accolades are stacked for Joly: first-team all-ACC as well as on the watch list for the John Mackey Award (best tight end in college football) and Biletnikoff Award (nation’s best receiver). Analysts currently project Joly as a day two pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He is certainly a player to watch.
DL Brandon Cleveland
In part II of our edition of “weird things that only exist in college football,” I present to you Brandon Cleveland, who was suspended for the first half of the opening game last week due to his participation in a fight versus ECU…in the season finale of 2024. While the 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive tackle was relatively quiet in the two quarters that he did play, his previous body of work puts him on this list.
Cleveland is the epitome of a traditional nose tackle, someone who will only rack up moderate sack totals but is especially disruptive in the run game. ECU’s between-the-tackles ground attack was held at bay all game, and this was especially true of the second half, where the Wolfpack defense did not allow a single run of 10+ yards.
Two Keys to Win
Let Chandler Morris sit back in the pocket and cook
While NC State has a solid defense overall, there are some clear weaknesses that opponents can exploit with this roster. In particular, they can be aggressive to a fault, biting on double moves or over committing on run fits. Speedy wideouts like Cam Ross may be able to exploit that, especially without a guy like Aydan White in the Wolfpack secondary. TAhe play action will be Des Kitchings’ best friend on Saturday afternoon.
The offensive line giving Morris clean pockets consistently will be the key to maximizing this potential advantage. In the one week sample we have, the Cavaliers dominated in the trenches, and the Wolfpack generated somewhat limited pressure. Again, the intensity of this week two contest will be an entirely different animal, though.
Minimize NC State’s downfield passing game
John Rudzinski’s number one priority has always been limiting explosiveness, but poor corner back play threw things off the rails in 2024. 2025 is off to a nice start, as Coastal’s longest play in the opener was a 24-yard pass in garbage time. However, NC State brings a lot more to the table in that respect.
CJ Bailey was previously referred to as an “experience” and part of that experience will be boom-or-bust downfield shots. The previously discussed Justin Joly as well as speedster wideout Wesley Grimes can rip a 60+ yarder on you in a heartbeat.
Look for Rudzinski to open with a healthy diet of quarters and cover two looks, making the appropriate adjustments based on what the game entails. A deeper group of outside corners, plus an emerging ball hawking safety in Ethan Minter, should provide some reassurance.
One Prediction
In a game that is highly entertaining for the neutral fan, and highly stressful for the UVA faithful, the ‘Hoos escape with a 27-23 win.
