Diego Melchor
Running backs/special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel walks with disappointment after the game against Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. NC State lost to Duke 45-33.
A big third-down stop to a costly penalty on fourth down. A 42-yard field-flipping rush leading to a blocked field goal. A potential scoring drive to a 67-yard interception return. It’s not a game of chutes and ladders; welcome to NC State football.
NC State should’ve beaten Duke on Saturday, plain and simple. Holding a 20-14 lead on your opponent’s side of the field with under a minute left on the clock, the expectation is to put points on the board and head into the locker room with a two-score lead and full command of the momentum.
Instead, the Wolfpack turned the ball over and let up a touchdown before halftime, giving up a lead that it never saw again.
Given, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the interception as to whether a Duke edge rusher was offside or not, but the problem with NC State has no better description than the one that head coach Dave Doeren gave.
“The bottom line is too many turnovers, too many points, didn’t stop them in certain situations,” Doeren said. “We shot ourselves in the foot too many times.”
For instance, with a 14-7 lead, NC State held Duke to a three-and-out, following the defensive stop with a methodical 10-play touchdown drive. It looked as though the Wolfpack commanded the game script and would continue to do so for the rest of the game. At least, that’s what was supposed to happen, but redshirt-junior kicker Kanoah Vinesett missed the extra point. Not blocked, but missed.
He simply shanked the kick; it had nothing to do with anything that the Duke special teams unit did. Once again, NC State had an opportunity to capitalize and it tripped on its own two feet.
“We had a chance with a two-score lead to do some things,” Doeren said. “There’s a lot of mistakes in that game that hurt us like penalties at key moments, and I thought special teams really hurt us in that game.”
Now, a one-point differential might not sound like much, but it caused the Wolfpack offense to play much more aggressively, and in return, sloppier. It couldn’t kick an extra point on its next touchdown, opting to try and get the point back with a two-point conversion. It failed, further putting NC State in the hole. Additionally, it’s impossible to win a game when you record four turnovers, but if Vinesett simply makes the routine kick, two of those forced turnovers might not even have happened.
“It’s very frustrating,” said redshirt-sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers. “Knowing what we’ve got to do to win and not beat ourselves. We’ve got to fix it.”
It was even clear from the first drive of the season against ECU. Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey led a slow drive down the field, and 12 plays later, was knocking on the door at ECU’s 7-yard line. But just as soon as the red-and-white got there, a 15-yard penalty pushed it out of the red zone, effectively wiping away any chance at a touchdown.
The most interesting part about the Wolfpack’s problem is that this team has all the talent in the world. Bailey and Smothers have become one of the most dangerous quarterback and running back duos in the country. Senior tight end Justin Joly is on pace for career highs in receptions and touchdowns. Even the defense, although it hasn’t played up to par at all, has shown signs of what it can be, holding Wake Forest scoreless in the second half and marking multiple key third-down stops throughout the season.
The talent is there; it just has to get out of its own way.
“We can’t beat ourselves in this game,” Doeren said. “If we play together and don’t beat ourselves, we’ll win. We were doing that for a while, and then it went the other direction. Talk is great, but action is what matters.”
Realistically, NC State has two more games against weak Virginia Tech and Campbell teams before its first true test at No. 22 Notre Dame. It can probably escape with a few of its signature mistakes against teams that are a combined 2-6, but you can be sure that even one of those slip-ups will result in a massive swing against the Fighting Irish and absolutely won’t hold against the ACC gauntlet it faces down the line.
The plan is simple: cut back on the errors and capitalize when given the opportunity. However, that may be easier said than done for the Wolfpack.