Carter Robinson
Head coach Dave Doeren shakes hands with Manny Diaz after the game against Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday, Sept 20. 2025. The Wolfpack had five total touchdowns. NC State fell to Duke 45-33.
DURHAM, N.C. — For years, NC State football has staked its claim in its defense. Staunch and unforgiving, the Wolfpack defense remained one of the best defenses in the nation for years.
Such is not the case for the 2025 Wolfpack, averaging nearly 30 points allowed per game, including a 45-33 loss in Saturday’s matchup against Duke.
“Obviously, we got to play better on that side of the football,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “You can’t give up that many points.”
Despite what the final box score showed, NC State wasn’t always playing from behind. In fact, it scored just three plays into the game off a screen pass to sophomore wide receiver Terrell Anderson, which he took 75 yards to the endzone for his first touchdown of the season.
Duke responded with a touchdown of its own, but on the ensuing drive, sophomore CJ Bailey again found Anderson for both his second catch and second touchdown. This was all part of a career showing for the fourth-string receiver, who added six catches and 166 yards to his two scores, marking a program-high in single-game receiving yards since Kelvin Harmon in 2018.
Anderson’s breakout is just one of many from the Wolfpack receiving corps. Senior Wesley Grimes marked 121 yards and a touchdown against ECU while sophomore Keenan Jackson marked 46 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest. No matter where he looks, Bailey has weapons.
“That’s a good room,” Doeren said. “CJ trusts those guys. He’s not afraid to throw it to any of them; they’ve all shown they’ll make plays with it. And we need that. It helps when you can spread the ball around.”
The two continued exchanging blows, and although it missed an extra point, NC State was driving with 50 seconds remaining in the second half and a 20-14 lead, looking to make it a two-score game before halftime.
On fourth-and-three on what was supposed to be a hard count simply meant to draw a player offside, the center snapped the ball to Bailey for what was expected to be a free play as Duke edge rusher Anthony Carter Jr. seemed to jump offside. Bailey threw an interception on the play, but it was seemingly fine as NC State expected a flag to be thrown for an offsides penalty. But the referees thought otherwise, keeping the flag in their pocket and letting the 67-yard interception return stand.
“It’s football, it happens,” said graduate linebacker Caden Fordham. “Obviously, you don’t want that to happen, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to go out and respond. That’s part of the game, and obviously we didn’t do that as much as we needed to.”
NC State’s lackluster response was evident in the second half, looking like a completely different team, letting up three touchdowns and a field goal in the final 30 minutes.
“At the end of the day, we just gotta be better,” Fordham said. “We come out swinging, doing our thing and then we let teams get back into it. We can’t let that happen. When we get in those positions, we gotta end the game. It’s plain and simple.”
At the same time, you can’t blame the entire game on the defense. NC State struggled on every side of the ball. Bailey entered the game with an eight-to-one touchdown to turnover ratio and left Durham with a ratio of 10-to-five, ending the game with two touchdowns, three interceptions and a fumble. For the first time this season, Bailey was stoppable. But even still, redshirt sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers has full faith in his quarterback.
“Some mistakes happen,” Smothers said. “You know that, and he knows that. It ain’t much that you gotta tell him. Just keep being him like he’s been all year and fix the little things up. CJ gotta keep being CJ, we’ll be just fine.”
Even through the quarterback struggles, Smothers still found a way to shine, turning 17 carries into 123 yards and two touchdowns. The star back continues to make his case as not just the best running back in the ACC, but one of the best ball carriers in the country.
But the mistakes didn’t just pertain to offense and defense. In addition to the missed extra point, special teams recorded two offsides calls — one of which gave the Blue Devils a first down and eventually a touchdown — and a blocked field goal. No matter what facet of the game it was, NC State faltered.
With that said, the Wolfpack is still 3-1 and its postseason hopes are still very much alive, but much has to be done before it can call itself a contender.
NC State will look to rebound next week, returning to Carter-Finley to host Virginia Tech on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.