3 Things To Get NC State’s Offense Back On Track

NC State’s offense stalled last week during its shocking loss to the Cavaliers. We’ll focus on three areas that require a jump-start before the home opener against Richmond.

Aug 29, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback Will Wilson (10), tight end Preston Douglas (19), and running back Darius Johnson (25) celebrate a touchdown during the third quarter of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the Wolfpack struggled mightily on both sides of the ball last weekend, seeing the offense flounder was especially concerning. 

CJ Bailey had one of his worst outings, but it’s not all on him. Several other areas of the offense need improvement if the Wolfpack expects to be taken seriously in the ACC. 

CJ Bailey Needs A Short-Term Memory 

There’s no mincing words: CJ Bailey’s performance was flat-out awful. 

The junior signal-caller had one of the worst outings of his career on Saturday. He went 12-for-23 for 84 yards and committed two turnovers. 

Bailey can’t hide from those stats, but he can move on. He needs to have a short-term memory about how bad things got against Virginia. 

The missed reads, overthrows, and turnovers are areas of his game that can be fixed. This open week and tune-up against Richmond next weekend will give Bailey time to clean up these issues. 

How CJ responds to this early adversity will dictate where NC State goes from here. 

“The confidence never went anywhere,” Bailey said after the game. “We still got that confidence. We still got that swag.” 

Aug 29, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey (11) scrambles during the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Ground Attack 

The Wolfpack’s rushing game was virtually nonexistent on Saturday. Virginia held NC State to under 100 yards (76). 

In three of their five losses last season, NC State was held to an average of 44.3 yards. They were 8-2 in the games they eclipsed the century mark in rushing. 

Duke Scott needs to touch the ball more than 7 times to be effective. The Cavaliers limited the Doak Walker Award Watch List candidate to only 20 yards rushing. Feed Scott around 20 touches per game. 

This offense is at its best when the team rushes for over 100 yards. It also takes enormous pressure off of CJ Bailey. 

Looking For The Explosive Plays 

The Wolfpack were missing a spark against Virginia, but the explosive plays should return once this offense finally clicks.

After the game, Dave Doeren acknowledged the offense had chances to get explosive plays, but they didn’t connect. 

Transfer players Victor Snow and Davion Dozier will help the offense in this area. 

Victor Snow caught 1 pass for 5 yards against Virginia. Snow spent three seasons with Buffalo, where he was the team’s second-leading receiver last season (815 yards). He’s also magic in the end zone. 

Davion Dozier caught 2 passes against Virginia for 14 yards. Dozier played with Appalachian State last season and was one of the team’s leading receivers.  

This offense has a chance to be dangerous once all of these things come together.