Wake Forest Football Opponent Preview: NC State Wolfpack
In this story:
The NC State Wolfpack visit Winston-Salem for a Week 3 showdown with your Wake Forest Demon Deacons. After a 6-7 finish last year--one in which Wake Forest upset NC State--Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren looks to pick his team up off the mat and return to his usual successes as an 8-4 and 9-3 program. Led by true sophomores QB CJ Bailey and Daylan "Hollywood" Smothers, perhaps the 2025 season is where Doeren relocates his footing.
NC State visits Wake Forest on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be Wake's first nationally-broadcast on ESPN. Check back the week of for a full game preview, but for now, let's go over the expectations and outlook for NC State this season.
We're nearing kickoff for the 2025 college football season and that means tune in every week with Wake Forest on SI for an extensive preview on every foe the Demon Deacons will play this season.
2025 NC State Football At A Glance
- Name: NC State Wolfpack
- Stadium: Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC (capacity: 56,919)
- Head coach: Dave Doeren (13th season)
- Offensive coordinator: Kurt Roper
- Defensive coordinator: DJ Eliot
- 2024 record: 6-7 (3-5 ACC)
NC State Football In 2024:
Under Doeren, NC State has usually been competitive. A 6-7 finish to the 2024 season–which included a bowl loss to regional rival East Carolina and two wallopings at the hands of Tennessee and Clemson–seemed like a pretty significant underachievement. Part of the shortcoming can be chalked up to an unfortunate career-ending injury to Coastal Carolina transfer QB Grayson McCall early on. From there, the Wolfpack didn't quite recover.
Despite the injury to McCall, an ineffective run game, and inexperience from Bailey at QB, NC State's offense played well. Bailey showed improvement and good athleticism. He projects more highly this season, but turnovers (particularly 10 interceptions) were tough to overcome in his debut. Duke transfer Jordan Waters (470 yards) was forecast to be an all-conference back, but he was out-gained on the season by the true freshman Smothers (571 yards).
It was the defense that was truly surprising. After so many successful seasons under DC Tony Gibson (now at Marshall), the Wolfpack lost key players and plummeted. It allowed 118 combined points to Tennessee and Clemson and held no Power Conference foes under 24 points. That defense allowed inferior opponents like NIU and Louisiana Tech to hang around. It just wasn't your typical NC State stop unit.
NC State Wolfpack Offense Preview
One of NC State's best offensive pieces, WR K.C. Conception, couldn't get going last year and left in the transfer portal for Auburn. This year, some pass catcher will have to step up in a big way to help out Bailey. Noah Rogers (478 yards) appears to be the leader in the clubhouse and tight end Justin Joly (661 yards) leads returners. While three of the top four receivers return, someone needs to step into the role of go-to and threaten opposing secondaries.
The success of this offense depends on the success of the run game. Smothers has the potential to be a dynamic player if the offensive line holds together. Two starters return up front and Purdue center Jalen Grant and Utah State guard Teague Andersen make it four returning FBS starters on this Wolfpack offensive line. According to Doeren, this is the deepest OL he's ever had.
Now in his second year as a starter, it's reasonable to expect Bailey takes a step forward. While still young, freshman mistakes should be a thing of the past and he should cut down on turnovers.
Despite all of the shortcomings last year, NC State managed to field a middle-of-the-pack scoring offense. Any measurable improvement from the ground game or from Bailey should easily loft this into a top-40 unit for 2024.
NC State Wolfpack Defense Preview
Five starters return on this defense, headlined by leading tackler Sean Brown (96 tackles). Although three more starters transfer in, there's reason for pessimism as those transfers hail from Utah State and Temple. Watch for senior Cian Slone can contribute early on in the linebacking corps as the focus primarily lies on Brown. Corner Jamel Johnson was one of Temple's highest-graded players, but PFF lined Johnson liable for five receiving touchdowns while in coverage in 2024.
Gibson departed for the head coaching job at Marshall, so Doeren hired on D.J. Eliot. Eliot spent the 2023 season as the Eagles linebacker coach and previously coordinated defenses at Temple, Kansas, and Colorado. However, the downward trend of Eliot is concerning – instead of steadily climbing the coordinating ladder, he seems to be descending it, starting at Kentucky before heading to Colorado, Kansas, then Temple.
NC State will keep its 3-3-5 system in place, installed by Gibson. It's a system that worked for them in the past, but also requires the right personnel. Mid-year, teams began to realize that NC State didn't have the personnel and began to run the ball with serious success (Stanford rushed for 225 yards).
Despite losing an excellent coordinator, NC State's defense should improve. Perhaps only marginally, but don't expect a 94th overall finish for this unit in 2025.
Best Case Scenario For NC State
You'll almost never look at the two deep for NC State and come away impressed. The time we did (last year), NC State floundered. Doeren is a coach that consistently gets the most out of his players and the sum is always better than the parts in Raleigh. Given its track record, there's no reason not to assume the same in 2025.
Bailey and Smothers make up a dynamic backfield duo capable of moving the football behind what should be a decent offensive line. And if Rogers or another pass catcher jumps up as a truly go-to option, the Wolfpack offense will hum – likely as a top-40 unit.
The start of NC State's schedule is extremely favorable, with just two top-50 preseason teams (Duke, Virginia Tech) in the first six games (none in the top 40). A 5-1 record heading into the Notre Dame game (Week 7) could be enough to garner some AP Poll attention. The schedule is also seriously backloaded. NC State has won the last four against rival North Carolina and that game is played in Raleigh, but a run of Notre Dame-Pitt-Georgia Tech-Miami-Florida State makes for tough sledding.
At best, NC State is knocking on the eight-win door. More likely, this is a 7-5 team capable of springing an upset on one of the ACC's top contenders late in the year.
Worst Case Scenario For NC State
That backloaded schedule is serious reason for concern. While 5-1 is more than achievable, there's also a possibility that a 5-1 Wolfpack is fighting for bowl eligibility come the North Carolina game in Week 14. Miss that 5-1 mark and NC State might not go bowling.
This is Doeren's 13th season with NC State. He's just one sub-.500 season removed from a four-year run averaging 8.5 wins (and two nine-win seasons before that). In 2019, the Wolfpack fell to 4-8, but Doeren picked them right back up for 8-4 the next year. Really, there's no reason we can't expect the same in 2025... right?
The other side of the argument is that, in Year 13, the well can run dry. Without Gibson or the defensive personnel to squeak out a couple 21-20 wins, 8-4 turns into 6-6. Should the defense not mesh in the back eight, there could be problems against high-octane offenses in Pitt, Georgia Tech, and Miami; should the defense repeat last year's performance, a team like Virginia or North Carolina can take advantage and spring the upset.
There's a real path to 5-7 and bowl in-eligibility. The floor likely isn't much lower than that.
2025 NC State Wolfpack Schedule
Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
Aug. 28 (THU) | East Carolina |
Sept. 6 | Virginia |
Sept. 11 (THU) | at Wake Forest |
Sept. 20 | at Duke |
Sept. 27 | Virginia Tech |
Oct. 4 | Campbell (FCS) |
Oct. 11 | at Notre Dame |
Oct. 18 | BYE |
Oct. 25 | at Pitt |
Nov. 1 | Georgia Tech |
Nov. 8 | BYE |
Nov. 15 | at Miami (FL) |
Nov. 21 (FRI) | Florida State |
Nov. 29 | North Carolina |
Wake Forest Opponent Previews
- Week One - Kennesaw State
Follow Wake Forest On SI on X to stay up to date on all the latest Wake Forest football news!
Brett is the ultimate college football traveler, currently en route to experience a game day at every FBS stadium. He is a former Division I recruiter at Bowling Green and Texas State, and his writing background includes analyzing NCAA betting markets. Also a high school football coach, Brett lives and dies by the gridiron. Follow along on all socials: @ roadtocfb.