NC State used its open week to reset, and now the Wolfpack are heading into the stretch run with a chance to close some ground in the ACC race. Before the team takes the field again, the road ahead is already starting to take shape through the results of its next three conference opponents in Week 7.
Stanford was the first of those teams to find a much-needed win, beating Elon 34-7 after back-to-back blowout losses to Wake Forest and Notre Dame. In those two defeats, the Cardinal had been outscored 115-10, so Saturday’s result brought some relief.
Running back Micah Ford did the heavy lifting, piling up 179 rushing yards on 19 carries and scoring four touchdowns. His final score came on an 81-yard burst in the fourth quarter.
Cal, meanwhile, keeps sliding. The Golden Bears have now lost three of their last four after Wake Forest went to Berkeley and handled them with ease.
Cal never got into the end zone in the first three quarters, and its defense had no answer for Wake’s Gio Lopez, who threw four touchdown passes. The Deacs rolled up 509 total yards, including 220 on the ground.
Cal’s next game comes Oct. 23 in Dallas against No. 23 SMU.
NC State’s only previous meeting with Cal ended in a 24-23 Wolfpack win on Oct. 19, 2024.
Duke’s weekend went the other way as well, with the Blue Devils falling 24-20 to North Carolina. That loss gave Bill Belichick his first win over an in-state ACC rival as UNC’s head coach.
Duke has now dropped two straight after losing to Georgia Tech the week before, a sharp turn after opening the season 4-0. The Blue Devils head to Virginia on Oct.
- NC State has lost its last three games against Duke and is still chasing its first home win over the Blue Devils since the 2020 season.
NC State’s immediate challenge is Stanford, and the Wolfpack have to make the long trip west with the time change hanging over the weekend. Stanford is the kind of opponent NC State should beat, but the travel gives this one a little extra bite.
The teams have met only once before, after the Cardinal joined the ACC in the 2024 season, and NC State won that game 59-28 on Nov. 2.
The most likely path for State may be winning its next two games against its West Coast ACC opponents, though Duke remains the toughest read of the bunch. Manny Diaz is 4-0 against the Wolfpack.
In Other News...
NC State Mourns A Program Icon Fans Will Never Forget
Chuck Amatos name has long been woven into NC State football history, from his days as a player to his time steering the program from the sideline. He was part of the fabric of Wolfpack athletics in more ways than one, with a footprint that stretched beyond football and into wrestling, and his influence was felt in a program that still remembers the identity he helped create.
Amatos impact in Raleigh included the kind of signature touches fans never forget, from the White Shoes Defense to the momentum he helped build in the early 2000s. Before and after his NC State years, he also built a decorated coaching rsum at Florida State, where he won two national championships as an assistant under Bobby Bowden, leaving behind a career that resonated far beyond one stop or one team. [Read more 🡒]