NC State heads west for a Friday night ACC trip to Stanford with a chance to shake off last week’s stumble and keep its season moving in the right direction. The Wolfpack are coming off a 38-14 home loss to Wake Forest as 4.5-point underdogs, but that came after back-to-back wins, including an upset of Louisville.
Stanford, meanwhile, has been all over the map. The Cardinal dropped two straight before putting Elon away 34-7 at home as 33.5-point favorites to get back on track. Earlier this season, Stanford had also pulled off an upset of Georgia Tech, but the low points have been brutal: a 57-3 loss at Wake Forest as a 14.5-point underdog and a 58-7 defeat at Notre Dame as a 40.5-point dog.
These teams already met once, and NC State handled business in convincing fashion. The Wolfpack rolled to a 59-28 win at home in the first-ever meeting between the schools in 2024.
The biggest name to watch is NC State quarterback CJ Bailey. He has started for the Wolfpack through his first three years and has shown real growth since his freshman season, when he threw 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Last year, he sharpened that to 25 touchdowns against nine picks. This season, Bailey has slipped a bit with nine touchdowns and four interceptions, but his 1,507 passing yards still rank 41st in the nation.
Stanford has already seen Bailey have one of his cleanest outings. In that 59-28 win as a freshman, he completed 18 of 20 passes and threw three touchdowns.
The Cardinal’s season has been defined by extremes. They’ve shown they can spring an upset, but they’ve also been overwhelmed when the game has tilted the other way.
NC State, for its part, has at least shown more resilience on the road lately. After getting blasted 34-8 at Virginia to open the year, the Wolfpack came back with a 35-31 loss at Vanderbilt and were competitive enough against Wake Forest last week to score 14 points.
It’s still a tricky spot for a team chasing its first road win, especially with the favorite’s label attached, but NC State is the pick here.
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NC State Faces A Tough Test It Hasnt Handled Well Enough
NC State is heading into a matchup with Stanford that feels like another early measuring stick for a Wolfpack team still trying to settle into the season. Dave Doeren has made a point of stressing the same message throughout the week, keeping the focus on one game at a time, while the challenge in front of his team is pretty clear: Stanford has leaned on its rushing attack, and NC State will need a cleaner answer on defense than it has shown at times so far.
The late kickoff on the West Coast has added another wrinkle to the preparation, which is why the Wolfpack have adjusted their routine this week to handle the unusual timing. For NC State, the timing matters almost as much as the opponent, since this is the kind of game where staying sharp late could determine whether the Wolfpack finally handle a test like this better than they have in similar spots. [Read more 🡒]
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For NC State fans, it adds another pro name to follow when Houston tips off, with Copeland landing a two-way deal that keeps him connected to both the NBA club and the development side of the organization. It is the kind of opportunity that can turn a strong summer into a longer look, and it gives Wolfpack supporters a new reason to keep an eye on what happens next. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Cant Afford Drama Against This Stanford Team
Stanford has spent the last several seasons fighting uphill, trying to keep pace in a changing college football landscape while dealing with high admission standards and a smaller investment base than many Power Four peers. The results have reflected those realities, with the Cardinal mired in losing years and still looking for the kind of stability that once made the program a national factor.
For NC State, that makes this the kind of game that should not turn messy. Stanfords offense has had trouble generating much on the ground, and its defense has been vulnerable through the air and on the line of scrimmage, allowing too much comfort to opposing quarterbacks and running backs. If the Wolfpack are sharp, this is a chance to handle business without adding unnecessary drama, but the Cardinal still have enough structure to punish any lapses. [Read more 🡒]