2025 UNC Schedule Breakdown: NC State

After averaging just 377 total yards per game (10th in the ACC), NC State fired offensive coordinator Robert Anae and promoted Kurt Roper to the position.

CJ Bailey is back after a stellar freshman season where he passed for 2,413 yards and tossed 17 touchdowns while rushing 279 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games (nine starts).

NC State returns its leading rusher, Hollywood Smothers, who had 89 carries for 571 yards and six touchdowns. He also had 19 catches for 263 yards and two touchdown catches. 

The Wolfpack has a solid group of pass catchers with tight end Justin Joly and wide receivers Noah Rogers and Wesley Grimes. Joly was voted to the preseason All-ACC team after he had 43 catches for a team-high 661 yards and four touchdowns.

The offensive line returns left guard Anthony Carter Jr. and left tackle Jacurrious Peak. NC State also added Jalen Green (Purdue) and Teague Anderson (Utah State).

Defense

NC State’s defense was pitiful last season as it was 79th in rushing offense, 93rd in passing defense and 99th in total yards allowed. It was also 15th out of 17 teams in the ACC in points allowed per game (29.7).

On the defensive line, the Wolfpack return Brandon Cleveland (36 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss) and Travali Price (36 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks).

The linebacking corps returns last season’s leading tackler, Sean Brown. Brown had 96 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.  Joining Brown are Caden Fordham and Cian Sloane, who was an All-Mountain West outside backer for Utah State last season.

The defensive backfield will be anchored by safety JJ Johnson, who recorded 69 tackles and six pass breakups for Georgia State in 2024, and cornerback Devon Marshall, who finished last season with 33 tackles, seven pass breakups and two interceptions.

Big Dawg: QB CJ Bailey

Bailey became one of the top freshman performers in school history after he started nine games for NC State in 2024 by throwing for 2,413 passing yards, ranking 10th in the league, and threw 17 touchdown passes, tying for eighth in the ACC. His 64.9 completion percentage ranked sixth in the ACC, the sixth-best in school history and the highest ever for a Wolfpack freshman.

He ranked eighth in the ACC in total offense touchdowns with 22 and also finished eighth in passing efficiency with a 143.97 rating. Among all FBS freshmen, he ranked seventh in passing yards and second nationally among true freshmen, despite starting only nine games. His 2,413 passing yards set the 18th-best single-season mark in school history and the second-best ever by a freshman, behind Philip Rivers’ 3,054 yards in 2000.

He best game came against Syracuse when he threw for for 329 yards, the most by a Wolfpack true freshman since Rivers, including a 75-yard touchdown to Rogers—the longest by a Wolfpack quarterback since 2022—and a 72-yard completion, marking the first time in at least 30 years that a NC State player completed two passes of 70 or more yards in a game.

He earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors for his performance at Cal, throwing for 306 yards and leading the Wolfpack back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit despite being sacked six times. He also came off the bench against Wake Forest, passing for 272 yards and two touchdowns.

Synopsis

For Bill Belichick to win over the Tar Heel faithful, a victory over NC State in Raleigh would make him an instant fan favorite—if he isn’t already. That won’t come easily, though. The Wolfpack have won three of the last four meetings at home and are riding a four-game winning streak in the series. For North Carolina, snapping that skid against its bitter rival would serve as the ultimate statement of a new era.