NC State Continues Beating UNC On and Off the Field
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RALEIGH — Dave Doeren has never been one to mince words when it comes to talking about NC State's rivalry with North Carolina. When you've beaten the Tar Heels five years in a row and have a 9-4 record in a matchup that means more than the rest for many reasons, smack talk is inevitable.
However, the Wolfpack's football dominance over UNC has stretched beyond the playing field over the last two months. NC State throttled the team from Chapel Hill in late November, marking Doeren's first win over legendary former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who shocked the college football world when he took over the Tar Heels a year ago. The winning for the Pack didn't stop there.
Since the 42-19 win, NC State racked up three additional wins that won't go in the record book, but sting fans and members of the UNC program. A flipped high school recruit and two historic transfers kept the rivalry going through the offseason.
Results and records
Just days after the win on the football field stretched the streak to five straight, Doeren and the Wolfpack staff were hard at work signing the next group of high school recruits for the program. One of those additions was edge rusher Lawrence Brown. The three-star recruit didn't mark a substantial addition in terms of rating, but how the Wolfpack secured him was a major win.
Brown was committed to North Carolina for six months before he flipped to NC State. The decision added insult to injury for the Wolfpack and allowed Doeren to continue flexing his program's muscles while UNC reeled from a massively disappointing first season for Belichick and Co. Doeren was excited to the point where he let it slip that Brown was coming before it was officially announced.
NC State flipped Loganville (Ga.) Grayson High 3⭐️ EDGE Lawrence Brown Jr. from UNC on signing day. He made it a surprise to everyone at his school.
— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) December 5, 2025
"It was a nice shock to my friends and family."
More here: https://t.co/2CK2ystivS pic.twitter.com/v8QOF16vrP
On National Signing Day, Doeren was asked about the outside view of his high school recruiting class for the 2026 season, which ranked 56th in the nation according to 247Sports. He stated that he only puts stock in the product NC State shows on the field. He used the question as an opportunity to rub some salt in the wounds of an already downtrodden Tar Heel program.
"From a fan standpoint, I think you should care more about the results than you should where we're ranked," he said. "As far as I know, UNC is ranked ahead of us every year I've been here, and compare the records."
Historic portal additions
Doeren took over the program in 2013, just finishing his 13th season at the helm. During that time, NC State never once secured a transfer from UNC. In fact, no player transferred from Chapel Hill to the school in Raleigh between 1993 and 2026, as defensive lineman Heath Woods joined the Wolfpack for the 1994 campaign. That all changed over the last week.
It started with the Wolfpack taking advantage of its quarterback, CJ Bailey, and his roots in South Florida. His teammate at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory in Hollywood, Florida, was Davion Gause, a running back for the Tar Heels over the last two seasons. Gause entered the portal in early December after a disappointing season under Belichick, looking for a fresh start.
NC State earned a commitment from UNC transfer RB Davion Gause following his official visit.
— Noah Fleischman (@fleischman_noah) January 10, 2026
Gause, who played with Pack QB CJ Bailey in high school, has rushed for 585 yards and 7 TDs in his first two collegiate seasons.
More here: https://t.co/NLNVVkJj7f pic.twitter.com/6CjBOn9rZF
He committed to NC State about a month later, becoming the first player to complete such a transfer since Woods in 1993. Gause was part of a cadre of Tar Heel running backs that never popped in the UNC offense, one of the worst units in the ACC. Now, he'll work in tandem with returning tailback Duke Scott and try to support his old friend from high school, Bailey.
"It was different and I could see how they run things over there within the team," Gause told On3's The Wolfpacker. "It's family-oriented. You are going to work hard and compete against anybody we play against."
Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack get another transfer from Chapel Hill. Five wins in a row on the football field, a flipped high school recruit and two transfers... NC State is having fun in the rivalry. https://t.co/T0qcIzn1y6
— Tucker Sennett (@SennettTucker) January 13, 2026
With Gause establishing the new trend, the Wolfpack wasn't done poaching talent from down the road. NC State secured a commitment from UNC defensive back Ty White, a former four-star recruit in the class of 2024, on Monday. This time, Doeren utilized safeties and nickels coach Charlton Warren, who recruited White when he was a member of Mack Brown's staff for three seasons.
While neither player contributed massively to UNC in the 2025 season, the idea that players could move from one side of the rivalry to another so quickly signifies just how much the sport has changed in the transfer portal era. However, it also marks a new high for NC State in the rivalry.
Keep it here for more coverage of NC State football and the transfer portal. Follow on X (Twitter) @WolfpackOnSI and @SennettTucker and never miss another breaking news story again. Want to reach out with questions about the Wolfpack? Send an email to wolfpackonsi@gmail.com to potentially be featured on mailbag stories in the future.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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