NC State walked into Saturday with its ACC championship hopes hanging in the balance and left with a loss that felt all too familiar.
The Wolfpack had the better of the first half against Wake Forest. CJ Bailey gave the ball away on NC State’s opening possession, and that turnover helped set up a Wake touchdown, but he settled in after that.
Bailey finished 19 of 26 for 174 yards and a touchdown, while the Pack built a 14-10 lead at halftime. NC State’s defense also did its part early, limiting Wake’s passing attack to 85 yards in the first half.
Then the game flipped hard.
Wake Forest ripped off 31 unanswered points after halftime and completely took over the second half, outgaining NC State 265 to 63. Gio Lopez was the engine behind it all, going 26 of 33 for 303 yards and three touchdown passes while also adding a rushing score.
NC State’s inability to run the ball made the collapse even tougher to absorb. Duke Scott was out, and Davion Gause couldn’t replicate last week’s breakout performance.
He managed just 11 yards on seven carries against Wake Forest’s defense, and as a team the Wolfpack finished with -5 rushing yards in the second half. That lack of balance left Bailey under constant pressure.
For a team that had started to look like it was turning a corner after beating Louisville for back-to-back wins, this was a major step backward. The multiple players ruled out for the game didn’t help, but the second-half shutdown was still hard to explain. NC State never found the end zone after halftime, and that made the loss sting even more.
Wake Forest deserves the credit for the way it answered after the break. But for NC State, this was the kind of missed chance that lingers. The Wolfpack needed this one to stay alive in the ACC race, and they didn’t get it done.
It was a rough night for a fan base that keeps showing up. Carter-Finley Stadium has now sold out 31 straight times, and the people filling those seats are still waiting for the kind of breakthrough they’ve been promised.
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NC State Has A Second Half Problem Fans Can't Ignore
NC States second-half slump has become impossible to overlook, and the latest example came in a lopsided loss to Wake Forest. The Wolfpack were on the wrong end of a 38-14 result at Carter-Finley Stadium, with Wake Forest piling up a big response after halftime while Gio Lopez kept the Demon Deacons moving through the air and the defense tightened on NC States offense.
Across five games this season, the Wolfpack have been outscored by 62 points in the second half, a trend that now raises bigger questions than one bad afternoon. The pattern is starting to point beyond a single breakdown and toward something more troubling about how NC State is finishing games, and the lack of answers only makes the stretch ahead feel more urgent. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest's Passing Game Just Made This 5-1 Start Feel Real
NC State had enough early rhythm to make Saturday feel competitive for a while, with quarterback CJ Bailey stringing together a career-best run of 16 consecutive completions in the first half. But the Wolfpack could not carry that momentum after halftime, and Wake Forest steadily took control of the game behind an offense that found answers through the air and never really gave NC State a way back in.
Gio Lopez was at the center of it, directing the passing game with sharp timing and constant pressure on the secondary, while Jack Foley and Carlos Hernandez became repeated problems downfield. The result was a 38-14 loss that offered a blunt reminder of how quickly a decent start can disappear when an opponent keeps winning the passing matchups and keeps the field tilted the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]
NC States ACC Push Faces A Brutal Rivalry Test Against Wake
NC States path through the ACC suddenly comes with a familiar kind of pressure this week, as the Wolfpack prepare to host Wake Forest in the 120th meeting of the rivalry in Raleigh. Both teams still have something meaningful to chase in the conference race, which gives an already heated matchup a little extra edge, and it also puts a spotlight on how NC State handles a deep stretch of injuries while trying to keep its momentum intact.
Dave Doeren has been upfront about the challenge Wake Forest presents, pointing to the Demon Deacons form and the need for his team to win with effort and defense. For the Wolfpack, the task is bigger than just the rivalry history or the standings, because staying in the ACC hunt now depends on surviving a game that asks a lot from every part of the roster. [Read more 🡒]