RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — CJ Bailey scored on the ground and through the air as North Carolina State defeated visiting Northern Illinois 24-17 on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Bailey, a true freshman making his second start for the Wolfpack (3-2), completed 13 of 20 passes for 108 yards. He supported a strong defensive effort from N.C. State that forced NIU (2-2) into four crucial turnovers.

“It was a team win. You know, offensively, obviously, statistics are not good, but we did not turn the football over the whole game,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “We punted the football really well and we played dominant defense against a really good football team.”

Momentum seemed to swing in the Wolfpack’s favor early in the second quarter, when N.C. State safety DK Kaufman reached NIU quarterback Ethan Hampton on a third-down blitz, knocked the ball out of his throwing hand and recovered the fumble for a 2-yard defensive touchdown.

N.C. State’s defense provided another boost in the third quarter when Devin Vann forced Hampton into a fumble that Brandon Cleveland recovered and returned to the 1. Bailey took advantage of the superb field position, throwing a short touchdown pass to KC Concepcion that pushed N.C. State ahead by two scores.

Trailing by seven points with four seconds to play, NIU’s attempt at a game-tying score was stifled when Hampton was intercepted in the end zone by Corey Coley.

“You lose the turnover battle four-to-nothing and it’s hard to win,” NIU coach Thomas Hammock said. “They blitzed us early and often. We just didn’t make enough plays.”

Antario Brown paced the Huskies with 114 yards rushing on 28 carries.

The takeaway

NC State: On offense, the Wolfpack played just well enough to complement their stout defense. The Wolfpack didn’t turn the ball over and scored when they reached the red zone. After a demoralizing defeat at Clemson last week, this was a bounce-back victory for N.C. State in its final non-conference game of the season.

“I know people are upset we didn’t have enough yards, this, that and the other,” Doeren said. “Don’t be mad about winning. That was a hell of a team win.”

NIU: The Huskies haven’t been able to recapture the magic of their Sept. 7 win at Notre Dame. This is NIU’s second consecutive loss and one where the Huskies struggled to capitalize on offense. The Huskies held the Wolfpack to 1-of-11 on third down conversions and to just 175 yards of total offense, but turnovers and stalled drives doomed NIU’s chances at another signature win.

Providing pressure

NIU had been on a six-game streak dating back to last season of not giving up any sacks. The Wolfpack shattered any hope the Huskies had of extending that mark, sacking Hampton four times. In all, N.C. State registered a season-high 12 tackles for loss.

N.C. State had just four sacks combined in its previous four games this season. It’s worth noting that the Wolfpack racked up this many sacks without Red Hibbler, who led N.C. State in the stat last season and is no longer on the team as of this week.

“We started communicating on a higher level. And that started with me. It was my job to do so… being more physical in practice,” said Wolfpack linebacker Caden Fordham, who had a team-high 14 tackles. “And I believe it translated to the field today.”

Key absences

Quarterback Grayson McCall and running back Hollywood Smothers were not dressed to play for N.C. State. McCall, the former three-time Sun Belt Player of the Year from Coastal Carolina, left the Wolfpack’s Week 3 win over Louisiana Tech with an undisclosed injury and hasn’t played since. Smothers, a transfer from Oklahoma, had 114 rushing yards and touchdown on 22 carries in the Wolfpack’s first four games.

Up next

NC State: The Wolfpack host rival Wake Forest next Saturday.

NIU: UMass visits the Huskies next Saturday.

Western North Carolina has been essentially cut off because of landslides and flooding that forced the closure of Interstate 40 and other roads. Video shows sections of Asheville underwater.

Francine Cavanaugh said she has been totally unable to reach her sister, son, or friends in the Asheville area.

“My sister checked in with me yesterday morning to find out how I was in Atlanta,” she said on Saturday. “The storm was just hitting her in Asheville, and she said it sounded really scary outside.”

Cavanaugh said her sister had no idea how bad the storm would be there. She told Cavanaugh she was going to head out to check on guests at a vacation cabin “and that’s the last I heard of her. I’ve been texting everyone that I know with no response. All phone calls go directly to voicemail.”

She saw video of a grocery store near the cabins that was completely flooded.

“I think that people are just completely stuck, wherever they are, with no cell service, no electricity.”

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was hospitalized and treated for burns on Friday after an “incident” while campaigning for governor in Mount Airy, a campaign spokesperson told multiple news outlets.

The controversial Republican nominee suffered burns to his hand after leaning against a truck at the event, according to The Washington Post’s Amy Gardner. The campaign described him as being in “good spirits” despite the hospitalization.

Robinson sustained second-degree burns and is set to return to the campaign trail on Saturday, NewsNation campaign reporter Libbey Dean noted.

He was set to drop by the Mayberry Truck Show and Parade in Mount Airy, according to his Friday schedule, detailed by CNN.

NewsNation was the first to report on the hospitalization.

Robinson’s hospitalization comes just over a week after a CNN report linked him to disturbing comments on a porn site, including declaring himself to be a “black NAZI” and describing himself as a “perv” who likes pornography of transgender people.

Robinson has referred to the reports as “lies” while suggesting that the comments on the site “possibly happened.”

Several staff members on his campaign have resigned following the reports on the scandal, and former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Robinson and called him “Martin Luther King on steroids,” told reporters this week that he didn’t “know the situation” when asked if he’d rescind his support.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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