Reacting to NC State's Nightmare Outing in Miami

NC State's trip to South Florida quickly turned from a major opportunity to a nightmare, as the Wolfpack was thoroughly beaten by No. 15 Miami in Saturday's matchup. The Hurricanes, clinging to hopes of a College Football Playoff bid, took the game over early and never looked back.

Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey was all out of sorts in his return to South Florida for NC State. The signal caller, coming off of his best game as a member of the Wolfpack, tallied just 120 passing yards and threw a pair of ugly first-quarter interceptions.

Nov 15, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren watches from the sideline against the Miami Hurricanes during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With a record of 5-5, the Wolfpack has just two more opportunities to get a win to salvage the season and reach a postseason bowl game. Head coach Dave Doeren was disappointed and somewhat shellshocked by the effort from his team.

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, get the immediate reaction from host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett, who breaks down the game from start to finish.

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Doeren spoke to members of the media after the loss, trying to figure out what went wrong for the Wolfpack. The veteran coach's most notable quotes from his press conference can be seen below:

From his opening statement

"Congratulations to Miami. They played really well. Thought their kids were well prepared and executed. We had a hard time, obviously, when you turn the ball over twice in the first quarter and it just became a time of possession mismatch. We were not able to stop them, even though we held them to some field goals, enough."

"Offensively, when you look up in the third quarter and you see 400 yards to 87... 25 first downs to five. We got it handed to us out there tonight and it's a bad feeling. Offense, defense wasn't good enough. Highlight of our football team was our punter tonight and that's sad when you have to say something like that..."

Miami vs. NC Stat — Nov 15, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) carries the football against NC State Wolfpack defensive back Jackson Vick (22) during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

On the Wolfpack's offensive inconsistency in the loss

"We couldn't block them. It doesn't matter what you call. Every time you call a play, you see a guy in the backfield on the snap. They're splitting double teams, running around guys, blitzing through guys. They played way faster, way more physical than we did and you've got to give them credit. Obviously, we need to get back to work."

On the messaging to the team after the loss

"One at a time. One at a time. Everything's about right now getting back to Raleigh, getting our guys healthy, and getting them refocused, and playing Florida State. You've got two teams that are both fighting as hard as they can to resolve their seasons. It'll all be about them and then it'll be about the next one."

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