Hollywood Smothers, NC State too strong for Virginia

Hollywood Smothers ran for two touchdowns and 140 yards as North Carolina State beat Virginia 35-31 on Saturday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.

CJ Bailey threw for 200 yards and one touchdown on 16-for-23 passing and added two rushing scores for the Wolfpack (2-0).

Noah Rogers, who was injured in NC State's opener, had a touchdown reception.

Virginia (1-1) regained possession at its own 19-yard line with 2:12 remaining following a punt by the Wolfpack. The Cavaliers moved to the Wolfpack 12 in less than a minute before quarterback Chandler Morris' pass was intercepted by Cian Slone in the end zone.

It was a non-conference game between two Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

J'Mari Taylor rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns for the Cavaliers. Morris was 30-for-43 for 257 yards and one touchdown.

NC State capped a 21-point third quarter with Smothers' 9-yard go-ahead run with 45 seconds left.

Virginia finished with a 514-416 advantage in total yards. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

NC State scored on the first possession of the second half on Smothers' 14-yard run, and about four minutes later took the lead on Bailey's 12-yard run.

Taylor's 66-yard touchdown run regained the lead for Virginia before Smothers struck for the final touchdown.

The teams traded four touchdowns across the game's first 16 minutes.

The score was tied 14-14 with five minutes to play in the opening half before Will Bettridge's 29-yard field goal for Virginia. Morris passed for 3 yards to Sage Ennis for a touchdown with 17 seconds left in the first half for a 24-14 lead.

Virginia last visited Raleigh in 2018. Prior to Saturday, the Cavaliers had scored 21 points in each of three encounters with coach Dave Doeren's Wolfpack teams, but Virginia had more than that by halftime.

Bailey was 9-for-11 with a touchdown throw in the first half.

--Field Level Media