NC State's Best Wins of the 2025 Regular Season
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RALEIGH — With the win over North Carolina in the final week of the regular season, NC State finished the 2025 campaign with a 7-5 record. The Wolfpack's year was filled with incredible highs and some highly disappointing lows, but it was enough for head coach Dave Doeren to earn a 14th season at the helm of the program.
The Pack began the season with three-straight wins, but stumbled as the schedule ramped up, falling to 4-4 before beginning a critical stretch in November with games against a ranked Georgia Tech team, a ranked Miami, Florida State and the rival Tar Heels in the finale. NC State finished 3-1 in the final month, earning a trip to a postseason bowl game.
It’s a tradition at this point #1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/aUBNksgJGy
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) November 30, 2025
Three of the Wolfpack's seven wins stood out when compared to the rest. NC State ended up with two wins over programs that appeared bound for the College Football Playoff before the ACC unraveled in the final three weeks and, of course, dominated UNC to cap off a solid conference campaign.
Revisiting the win over Virginia
Long before Virginia finished the season ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll with an ACC Championship berth, the Cavaliers arrived in Raleigh in the second week of the season for a unique non-conference matchup against the Wolfpack. It was clear this wasn't the same Virginia team, as head coach Tony Elliott overhauled much of the roster and finally found a quarterback in Chandler Morris.
Virginia quickly proved that NC State's strong defensive start to the season was more of a fluke than a reality, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter. Cavalier tailback J'Mari Taylor dominated the Wolfpack's defense, rushing 17 times for 150 yards and three touchdowns. However, NC State's running back, sophomore Hollywood Smothers, responded every time, rushing for his own 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Hollywood Smothers is the first NC State player with 130+ rushing yards & two rushing touchdowns in a game since Reggie Gallaspy in 2018!#1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/wbK17Ivp3t
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 6, 2025
It all came down to one last drive for Virginia, with all of the pressure falling on NC State defensive coordinator DJ Eliot and his group. With just over a minute on the clock, Virginia moved deep into Wolfpack territory with a chance to win the game. Morris dropped back, looking for a wheel route in the end zone.
However, Utah State transfer outside linebacker Cian Slone notched his name in Wolfpack lore with a game-sealing interception, helping the Wolfpack hang on 35-31. It was Virginia's only loss until the Cavaliers fell 16-9 to Wake Forest.
Revisiting the Georgia Tech win
After a massive loss to Pittsburgh on the road, NC State's hopes of making a bowl game hinged entirely on a strong November. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, the final month of the regular season began with a matchup against No. 8 Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were on track to be in the College Football Playoff with one of the nation's best offenses at the time
With rumors swirling about his job security and pressure mounting on the Wolfpack to turn things around, Doeren needed to pull a rabbit out of his hat against Georgia Tech. He did just that, as the Wolfpack offense stormed to one of its best performances of the season, scoring 48 points on the Yellow Jackets.
The win was sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey's most complete performance of the season. The young signal caller threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as well. However, it was redshirt freshman running back Duke Scott who domianted the Yellow Jackets. With Smothers ruled out with an injury, Scott ran for 196 yards and a touchdown in the upset victory.
"When we play complimentary football, 11-man football, guys doing their job and answering the call when they need to, we're a really good football team," Doeren said. "It's unfortunate it's taken us a while to play a whole game that way."
Taking down the Tar Heels
The Wolfpack throttled the Tar Heels 42-19 in the final game of the 2025 regular season. It marked Doeren's fifth-straight win over UNC, making him the third coach in NC State history to accomplish such a feat.
NC State scored on the first four possessions of the game, ambushing the defense of first-year Tar Heel head coach Bill Belichick. It was a massive improvement on the defensive end for the Wolfpack, though, as the group held the Tar Heels to under 20 points. It was the third time the group held an opponent under 20 in the entire year.
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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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