NC State’s Halloween afternoon at Carter-Finley had the kind of bite the Wolfpack had been missing.
Behind a defense that smothered California from the opening series and a second-half surge from the offense, NC State rolled to a 31-10 win over the Golden Bears and gave interim head coach Todd Goebbel a victory in his first game at the helm. The Wolfpack improved to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, while Cal dropped to 3-6 and 2-4.
The biggest edge came from a defense that looked in complete control early and never let Cal settle in. NC State opened by forcing three straight three-and-outs and added a turnover on downs before the Bears could get on the board. The pass rush was relentless in Charlton Warren’s debut as defensive coordinator, producing three sacks and seven quarterback hurries.
“It was great, we were actually mad about those ten points [Cal] put up on us,” senior inside linebacker Raul “Popo” Aguirre said. “We were able to execute, and we played for each other and for Coach Doeren, we had each other’s back no matter what happened”.
The Wolfpack capped the defensive effort with an interception at the 4:20 mark of the fourth quarter, sealing a multiple-score win.
NC State’s offense did just enough in the first half to keep the pressure on. The Pack struck on the opening drive when junior quarterback CJ Bailey connected with sophomore running back Deandre Desinore on a 49-yard touchdown. Bailey’s throw showed off his arm strength, and Desinore finished the play with a strong back-shoulder catch.
The scoreboard showed only 10 points at halftime, but Bailey said the group never lost its composure. He finished the second half 8-for-11, with every completion coming in a row, and NC State turned that steadiness into 21 unanswered points after the break. The only other time the Pack had done that this season was in the 73-point win over Richmond.
“Everybody was level-headed in that locker room and I’m so thankful to have a team that’s like that,” Bailey said. “No coaches or guys screaming or panicking, it was just a calm locker room”
That second-half response mattered because NC State had been burned too often coming out of halftime. In the five games before Cal, the Wolfpack had allowed a third-quarter touchdown every time. This time, the defense slammed the door and held the Bears scoreless after the break.
“Going into halftime and keeping everybody calm, making sure everyone knows that it is all about us,” Aguirre said. “We can only beat ourselves … we came out at halftime and understanding it’s about us and everything we do, that was the difference”.
The postgame mood made it clear the win meant more than a normal conference result. Multiple players and coaches tied the victory to Goebbel and former head coach Dave Doeren, and Goebbel got emotional when asked what the night meant to him.
“It means the world to me,” Goebbel said. “I have great relationships with these young people, it has been special over these past eight years, I take great pride in getting to know them personally and professionally. I coach them hard, but I love them harder”.
For Goebbel, it was his first win as a head coach. For NC State, it snapped a two-game losing streak and offered a little momentum as the season winds down, even if postseason hopes are gone.
The Wolfpack will be back at Carter-Finley on Saturday, Nov 7, when Duke visits. Kickoff is set for 12:30 pm.
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