What You Should Know About NC State vs. Cal

The Wolfpack could really benefit from a win against the Golden Bears, considering the emotional week they’ve had.

We’ll share 3 things to watch out for and also provide insight into the Cal football team from someone who covers the program.

Avoiding the Distractions

NC State fired its former head coach, Dave Doeren, midseason in an unprecedented move by AD Boo Coorigan.

His decision puts the team in uncharted territory as it now has to navigate the rest of the season while trying to minimize the distractions around the coaching search.

The speculation around State potentially hiring former State legend Philip Rivers is at a fever pitch. Last night, AL.com writer Ben Thomas asked Rivers directly about the job opening. “There’s nothing there at this point,” Rivers said. “There’s nothing imminent.”

St. Michael coach Philip Rivers on reports linking him to the head coaching job at his alma mater, N.C. State. pic.twitter.com/VqK0E6hfZq
— Ben Thomas (@BenThomasPreps) October 31, 2026

State Coach Todd Goebbel was thrust into the interim role and will lead the Wolfpack the rest of the way this season. “Our mission is to make sure that these prideful men have a great experience competing for the rest of the season,” Goebbel said.

Showing Resolve

The Wolfpack struggled on both sides of the ball against Stanford last weekend. The defense allowed big performances by Cardinal playmakers, including giving up the most rushing yards to one player all season (150).

The lack of effort from the defense was apparent. It’ll be interesting to see how things have improved this week under new DC Charlton Warren after DJ Eliot was fired last week.

State’s offense is badly injured, and despite CJ Bailey (QB) accounting for 256 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 59 yards rushing, he couldn’t rally this team to a victory last week.

And even though Injuries will still be a factor for the Wolfpack this week, Bailey believes his team is still capable of bringing their best effort against Cal.

“This game is going to be one of those games where we put the world on notice again. All eyes are on us right now,” Bailey said. “We’re going to show the world that we’re still the team that can do it, and still a team that can compete at a high level.”

Honoring a Legend

NC State will honor the legacy of its former player and head coach Chuck Amato on Saturday. The players will don a helmet sticker in remembrance of Amato, who, as a player, led the Wolfpack to a share of the ACC conference title in 1965.

As a head coach, Amato spent seven seasons with his alma mater and led the Wolfpack to a school-record 11-3 season in 2002.

In honor of the legendary Chuck Amato 🐺 pic.twitter.com/NLkoc85cyP
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 30, 2026

Game Planning for Cal

Cal traveled over 2,800 miles in search of a victory in Raleigh today. We reached out to Cal beat writer Jake Curtis to learn more about these 3-5 Golden Bears.

What is one key to Cal beating NC State?

Curtis: The key is making CJ Bailey stay in the pocket and not hurt Cal with his legs. Cal’s defense has had trouble with quarterbacks who can run, especially if they get on the perimeter, and Bailey is capable of hurting the Bears that way.

What has gone wrong for the Golden Bears this season?

Curtis: Cal can’t run the ball, and it can’t stop the run. An injury to leading rusher Adam Mohammed (346 yards in four games) has kept him out of the last four games, and he is questionable for Saturday’s game.

But the bigger problem is the offensive line, which has not been able to open holes consistently.

Who is one Cal player set to have a big performance on Saturday?

Curtis: Chase Hendricks. With a lot of Cal’s wide receivers, including Ian Strong, questionable for the game, Hendricks may be the only experienced wide receiver available, so he is likely to get a lot of targets and is capable of turning them into substantial gains.

NC State versus Cal kicks off at 12:00 pm on the ACC Network

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