Virginia Routs NC State 34-8, Snaps Doeren's Streak
Beau Pribula ran and threw all over NC State in Charlottesville, ending Dave Doeren's unbeaten run against Virginia and opening the CJ Bailey era at 0-1.
The trip that never got to São Paulo ended in a blowout
This was supposed to be a first trip to Brazil before the ACC moved the game back stateside in June, and instead NC State got Scott Stadium and a beating. Dave Doeren had never lost to Virginia in four meetings as the Wolfpack's head coach; that streak is over after a 34-8 final that was not competitive by halftime. Beau Pribula, the Missouri-by-way-of-Penn-State transfer making his Virginia debut, went 9-for-11 for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns and added 110 yards on the ground, a line Bruce Feldman flagged in real time as UVA built a 24-0 lead before the break.
Virginia8-34CJ Bailey's third season as the guy opened rough: 12-for-23 for 84 yards with an interception and a lost fumble, and Virginia out-gained the Wolfpack 413 yards to 168, per SI.com's postgame breakdown. The receiving corps that replaced last year's top four targets never found timing with him, which was the read going in — new faces, no chemistry yet — and it showed against a defense that had Bailey under siege most of the afternoon.
UVA’s Beau Pribula looking really sharp today, shredding NC State with his legs—and his arm. The former Penn State QB, No. 91 on the Freaks List, is 5-6 for 127 yards & 2 TDs and run for 80 yards in a little over a half. UVA up 24-0. t.co/XDLcGIJVM5
There's not much to salvage from a 26-point loss to open the year, but it wasn't a total wipeout on either side of the ball. NC State gets an open week to fix what broke before Richmond visits Raleigh.
The two new defenders who actually showed up
Buried in a lopsided score were two transfer debuts worth remembering. Outside linebacker Harvey Dyson III forced a Virginia punt with a sack the team's own account captured live, and finished his first game in a Wolfpack uniform with 5 tackles, half a sack and a tackle for loss, according to PackInsider's postgame notes. Captain Popo Aguirre led the whole team with 18 tackles from the inside linebacker spot.
.@HarveyDysonIII picks up a @FoodLion SACK to force a Virginia punt! t.co/hOiKREOUSe
Neither performance moved the scoreboard against a Pribula-led attack that had UVA up 17-0 before NC State's defense settled in, but a defense replacing pieces gets to point to two guys who look like they belong. That's the kind of thread a fan actually wants out of a loss like this — not the score, but who you build around next.
Recent News
Covers' injury table still lists two names heading into the Richmond game on September 11: WR T. Copper remains out with an undisclosed injury and no return window, and RB Jonathan Paylor is Questionable with a knee issue, most recently reported over the weekend.
Doeren has already set the frame himself, telling reporters Paylor is "probably still not 100% yet" and that he's hoping to have the back — the fastest player on last year's roster when NC State didn't have him — fully healthy somewhere between Weeks 2 and 4, per PackInsider. Elsewhere, On3's Pete Nakos reported CB Jamel Johnson is back on the roster for a fifth season after a Colorado court ruling restored his eligibility, a bit of depth NC State's secondary could have used a week earlier.
A get-well game against a Richmond team that's already 1-0
NC State gets Richmond at Carter-Finley Stadium on September 11, and the Spiders arrive having opened their own season with a 35-14 win over Bucknell — not a name that will scare anyone off the schedule, but a live opponent all the same after the week NC State just had.
No line has been posted on this one yet. What matters more is whether the fixes start showing up: cleaner protection for Bailey, a receiving corps that's found its timing, and a defense that plays its whole first half like Dyson and Aguirre played their debut.