Takeaways From NC State's Big Win Over Campbell
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RALEIGH — Playing an FCS team with one win can fix a lot of things. NC State learned that throughout its 56-10 rout over the Campbell Fighting Camels in Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Wolfpack entered the matchup in the middle of a two-game losing streak, but immediately took control of the game. Dave Doeren's squad scored touchdowns on its first eight drives of the game, stretching into the third quarter. Even in such a dominant offensive performance, some things still went wrong for the Pack, particularly with the special teams unit.
However, the win boosted the confidence of this NC State team as it heads into its most daunting stretch of the season, starting with a road trip to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. So what can NC State take away from this blowout win?
Special Teams Blunders
There were very few positives for the Wolfpack's special teams unit for the second straight week. Freshman punt returner Teddy Hoffmann muffed a pair of punts, one of which was recovered by Campbell and led to the Camels' only touchdown of the game. Hoffmann's miscues led to sophomore wideout Terrell Anderson replacing him. On his first return opportunity, Anderson appeared to score a touchdown, but a holding penalty against freshman linebacker LaCorian Hodge wiped the score off the board. Doeren offered a blunt assessment of the group's play.
"Special teams-wise, obviously disappointed that catching a punt is so hard, but I think out of this, we found our punt returner in Terrell Anderson," Doeren said. That might be the thing I'm most excited about coming out of the game. We finally got a guy back there that knows what to do."
Kickoff specialist Charlie Birtwistle also fired a kick out of bounds and set up the Camels with better field position, another play which irritated Doeren. Special teams will no doubt be a major point of emphasis for the team throughout the week.
Bailey Bounces Back
While sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey didn't turn the ball over against Virginia Tech, he failed to push the ball down the field successfully against the Hokies. His performance against Campbell couldn't have been more different. The sophomore completed five passes of 25 yards or more, including a pair of touchdowns to tight end Cody Hardy and Anderson. He ultimately finished the game with 337 yards and four touchdowns.
While the overall numbers were certainly impressive, Bailey's accuracy was the most impressive aspect of his performance. He completed 20 of his 23 passes, good for a completion rate of 87%, his best of the 2025 season.
"It's been, it's been great to push the ball downfield and be accurate and on time," Bailey said. "I want to continue to have that throughout the season."
Defense Stepping Up
Despite being maligned by injuries, the few healthy contributors left on the Wolfpack defense stepped up and prevented Campbell from gaining any serious momentum. Some of the third down issues persisted, but it was an improved showing from a group still playing with primary coordinator DJ Eliot. Charlton Warren called the plays for the defense once again and the group performed admirably for its coach.
The Wolfpack sacked Campbell quarterback Kamden Sixkiller twice in the game. Linebacker Tra Thomas and defensive end Sabastian Harsh combined to sack the Camel quarterback for a loss of 12 in the first half and Harsh got to him again early in the third quarter.
It was the lowest point total for an opposing team since Week 1 against East Carolina.
A Hollywood Short
Sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers only touched the ball six times in the game. He finished with 123 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 30 receiving yards and a touchdown catch. He averaged 30.8 yards per carry and exploded for a 59-yard touchdown, the longest of his career.
"He takes a lot of pressure off our passing game when he can run so good," Bailey said. "Every week he's been dominant. It's been great to have a guy like Hollywood in our backfield, you know, it loosens up more passes for us."
Smothers and the Wolfpack now have a few days to prepare for a significantly stronger opponent in the Fighting Irish.
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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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