NC State spent one half looking like it had finally grabbed control, then spent the next one unraveling in a way that left Carter-Finley Stadium quiet and the Wolfpack staring at a 38-14 loss to Wake Forest.
CJ Bailey opened as if he might own the afternoon again. Last year, in the quarterbacks’ first meeting, Bailey was the headline while Gio Lopez was forced out with an injury in Tar Heel blue before later transferring to Wake Forest.
On this day, Bailey was sharp early, stringing together 16 straight completions and helping NC State build a halftime lead. Then the game flipped hard.
Wake Forest turned the third quarter into the separator. The Demon Deacons marched 73 yards on the opening drive after the kickoff to move in front, then added two more touchdowns before the period ended.
Lopez found his rhythm with Jack Foley on the decisive scoring march, hitting the receiver four times on the drive, including the touchdown throw. By night’s end, Lopez had 303 passing yards and three touchdown passes.
“We just needed a winning play,” Bailey said. “Especially in those first few drives, we just needed a play from anybody, including me. We just couldn’t find that spark in the second half, I take full accountability for that.”
That second-half flatline has become a problem for NC State, now 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC.
“At this point in the season, NC State is not a second-half football team.”
“Teams aren’t doing things they didn’t do in the first half,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “They’re running the same plays that we defended and then we’re not defending them with discipline.”
Wake Forest, now 5-1 and 3-1 in the ACC, kept leaning on the mismatch pieces once it settled in. Lopez spent the back half of the game leaning on Foley and Carlos Hernandez, and the two wideouts combined for 273 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. NC State never found an answer on the outside.
“Today, a corner got picked on quite a bit,” Doeren said. “We got to get better at that spot, whether it’s improvement by that player or competition and practice and replacing them.”
The Wolfpack also made life harder on itself with penalties, especially as injuries forced the staff to pare things down. NC State used a smaller defensive call sheet than usual, hoping fewer calls would mean cleaner execution. Instead, the team kept giving Wake Forest extra chances while trying to make up for missing pieces.
“When you’re shorthanded, your margin for error is smaller and you got to play a cleaner football game,” Doeren said. “You got to execute at a higher level, and you certainly can’t shoot yourself in the foot … and we did.”
The absence of running back Jayden “Duke” Scott loomed large. NC State managed just 15 rushing yards for the game, and with the bye week arriving, Bailey said the timing could help the team recover before traveling to California for Stanford.
“We were down a lot of guys … this bye week was definitely needed for recovery,” Bailey said. “This is going to be a great week for us to get better and improve what we need to improve on.”
Even with the rough start to his run as the starter, Bailey kept the message steady.
“We always gotta stay level-headed and keep doing our same thing,” Bailey said. “We have our process set before the season starts … this is what we do on Monday, this is what we do on Tuesday, this is what we do on Wednesday. Keep that process going for the rest of the year.”
NC State next plays Stanford on the road on Friday, Oct. 23 at 10:30 p.m.
In Other News...
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 🡒]