Tag: CJ Bailey

NC State QB still confident about beating UNC football after Bill Belichick hire

NC State quarterback CJ Bailey really doesn’t like the UNC football program.

Ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels’ 2024 regular season finale, NC State quarterback CJ Bailey made headlines when he guaranteed a Wolfpack victory.

Bailey struggled in the first half against UNC, but eventually backed up his talk, leading NC State to a come-from-behind, 35-30 victory that clinched bowl eligibility.

On Wednesday, December 11, North Carolina made headlines by hiring Bill Belichick as its head football coach. Belichick’s hiring will undoubtedly spurn a ripple of positive effects, as he is arguably the greatest coach across all levels.

Despite Belichick’s ability to turn the Tar Heels into a national powerhouse, Bailey still feels confident in the Wolfpack’s ability to beat UNC in 2025.

“Bill Belichick can get it, too,” Bailey said during an NC State pre-Military Bowl interview. “No matter who the coach is for UNC, we’re going to kick them. That means a lot I could play against Bill Belichick and meet him. But if he comes to play, we’re going to kill them.”

I admire Bailey’s confidence – and Belichick has yet to coach at the college level – but Bailey hasn’t played against Belichick. If you recall Belichick’s 24 years as the New England Patriots‘ head coach, he won six Super Bowls and only missed the playoffs six times.

North Carolina’s last victory over NC State came in 2020, during the infamous COVID-altered season, when North Carolina dominated the Wolfpack by a 48-21 mark. Three of the Wolfpack’s last four victories against UNC included comebacks, most recently Thanksgiving Weekend, when UNC entered the fourth quarter with a 20-13 advantage.

I really hope Belichick and the Tar Heels make Bailey eat his words. How bittersweet would it be for North Carolina, under the greatest coach of all time, to march into Raleigh and leave with a victory?

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NC State QB ‘confident’ he will beat North Carolina in season finale

NC State’s quarterback might be a little too confident about taking on UNC next week.

North Carolina takes on Boston College this week on the road in the toughest test in their recent win streak. They became bowl-eligible with their win last week against Wake Forest and will have a postseason.

The same cannot be said for NC State, which is sitting at five wins after losing this week against Georgia Tech on the road. Quarterback CJ Bailey threw for 147 yards and three interceptions in that loss and had pretty strong words for UNC following his loss.

Bailey said this about his impending season finale matchup with the Tar Heels, which will determine NC State’s bowl eligibility, via 247sports.

We’re hurting ourselves. We’re having these self-inflicted wounds every time we take these losses. Our mindset every time is to try to bounce back and go out and get a win. North Carolina, we coming. We’re gonna win this game at North Carolina. We’re gonna get our win against North Carolina, because it means a lot to us. Things went wrong all year, but this game right here is our game.

The Wolfpack will head to Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill and take on North Carolina at home. The Tar Heels, prior to this week against Boston College, have won all three of their previous matchups and are now 6-4 on the season.

North Carolina will take on NC State in the season finale next week on Saturday, December 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET, airing on ACC Network.

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