NC State spent Wednesday in an unwelcome spotlight, and the two national lists that grabbed it were each bruising in their own way.
ESPN’s Ryan McGee slotted the Wolfpack at No. 5 in his Week 3 Bottom 10 after Saturday’s stunning loss at Vanderbilt. The Athletic went bigger-picture and placed NC State No. 1 among college football’s most average programs, using the same ending in Nashville as proof of a longer-running pattern.
McGee’s ranking came with the kind of context only a fan who’s lived it can provide. He wrote that he grew up in Raleigh as a State fan and said being a Wolfpack supporter is like “a lifelong trip to the dentist.” His No. 5 spot was less about saying NC State is one of the worst teams in the country and more about capturing a team that was better than its worst moment, only to let it slip away in brutal fashion.
That moment came when NC State had Vanderbilt on the ropes before quarterback CJ Bailey fumbled in the end zone while trying to run out the clock. The Commodores recovered for the winning touchdown, and a game that looked like a Wolfpack win turned into a 1-2 record.
The Athletic’s list landed with a different kind of sting. Its idea was to find the Power Four programs that keep living in the middle - enough competence to spark hope, not enough breakthrough to change the conversation. By that measure, it put NC State at the top.
“NC State is a program perpetually stuck in between - never truly horrible, never truly great. Just good enough to inspire hope, just bad enough to yank it away.”
That’s a harsher verdict than a one-game gag, and for NC State fans it probably hits closer to the bone. Saturday’s finish was ugly enough to look like a horror scene, but the larger frustration is that the result felt familiar.
There was at least one nearby consolation prize. North Carolina came in at No. 4 on The Athletic’s list, giving State fans a rival to point at, even if being No. 1 on the wrong kind of chart is a thin comfort.
The two rankings weren’t measuring the same thing. ESPN was reacting to the collapse at Vanderbilt.
The Athletic was arguing that the collapse fit a broader identity. NC State can’t undo Saturday, but the rest of the season will shape whether that label sticks.
In Other News...
NC States Secondary Just Lost A Key Defender Without Warning
The Wolfpacks secondary took another hit this week when defensive back Asaad Brown disappeared from NC States football roster, leaving his status with the program unclear. Brown had already been sidelined for the last two games with an injury after opening the season on the field, so his absence had been noticeable even before the roster change surfaced.
Brown had been one of NC States more useful pieces in the back end, starting multiple games in 2025 and giving the defense some flexibility in how it deployed him. For a unit that has already had to manage injuries, losing a versatile defender without any immediate explanation only deepens the uncertainty around how the secondary will hold up moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Fans Have A Real Reason To Question That Budget Number
A new Athletic report put a price tag on roster spending across the Power 4, and NC State landed in the middle of the pack with an estimated range of $22 million to $26 million for the 2025-26 cycle. It is the kind of number that immediately gets attention because it helps frame how competitive a program is trying to be in the modern college football economy, especially for a team like the Wolfpack that is trying to keep pace in an arms race where perception often matters almost as much as reality.
But the figure has already been met with skepticism from people close to NC State, who say it is too high and does not reflect the programs actual spending. The report also flagged other schools, including Tennessee, LSU and Notre Dame, as possible misreads, which only adds to the sense that these broad estimates come with plenty of guesswork. For NC State fans, the bigger question is not just what the number says, but how much it really says about where the Wolfpack stands financially compared with the rest of the sport. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Bailey Owned NC States Costly Late Mistake After Vanderbilt Loss
After NC States loss at Vanderbilt, CJ Bailey did not duck the tough questions about how the game ended or how he handled the night overall. The quarterback met with the media to talk through his mindset after the setback, the late fumble that helped define the finish, and the way the offense had to adjust on the fly after moving from a tempo look to a huddle approach.
Bailey also spoke about the support system around him, pointing to his family as a steady source of encouragement while he continues to grow through the season. For a young quarterback, nights like this can linger, but they also become part of the learning curve, and Bailey sounded like a player intent on carrying the lessons from one road loss into the next challenge. [Read more 🡒]