Dylan Ribott
Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey throws the ball down field during the game against Virginia Tech on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. Bailey threw for 240 yards with two touchdowns. NC State lost to Virginia Tech 23-21.
“Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, doesn’t mean they’re lost forever,” Professor X said in the movie “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” NC State fans hope this mantra will come to fruition for their stumbling football program.
After a game that left Wolfpack Nation stunned and embarrassed — a 23-21 loss to then 1-3 Virginia Tech — outside noise is really starting to build. NC State (3-2) is desperate for a rebound win after falling to a Virginia Tech team that had already fired its coach and fumbling the lead against Duke.
“[We] did not play well enough fundamentally [against Virginia Tech],” said head coach Dave Doeren at Monday’s presser. “In football, it’s about fundamentals. It’s blocking, tackling, footwork, pad level, leverage and effort. The bottom line in any loss is that we have to do a better job as coaches getting our players to execute … that did not happen in this game.”
Luckily, NC State has a perfect opportunity to get right with Campbell (1-4) out of the Football Championship Subdivision next on the schedule. The Camels are led by head coach Braxton Harris, who is currently in his second year leading the Camels.
“This is a game that is about us,” Doeren said. “We gotta get better in certain areas that we really wanted to improve in last week. … Execution at the line of scrimmage on both sides has to improve.”
Campbell runs a two-quarterback system, but it mainly relies on one primary man behind center. Sophomore quarterback Kamden Sixkiller is the starter for the Camels and currently has 1,098 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. On the ground, he has rushed 40 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Supporting Sixkiller, senior quarterback Mike Chandler II primarily comes into the game to run, totaling 27 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns.
There are several other rushers on this Campbell team that add depth and balance to the ground attack. Sophomore running backs JJ Cowan and Ethan Lawrence, and senior running back Naieem Kearney have each added at least 100 yards of their own.
In the air, the top Camel to watch out for is sophomore wide receiver Randall King. The Rocky Mount native leads the team with 28 receptions, 333 yards and five touchdowns, while averaging 11.9 yards per catch. Another big playmaker is junior wide receiver Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox who currently has eight receptions for 175 yards.
Defensively, the Camels have three big playmakers: two at the linebacker position and one in the secondary. Senior linebacker Kalen Villanueva is the Camels’ top tackler on defense, totaling 38 plus a fumble recovery, while senior linebacker Logan Livermon has 30 tackles.
Senior safety Jojo Pace is the top man out of the secondary and has 31 total tackles and a forced fumble.
“Their defense is a 3-4 scheme,” Doeren said. “Lot of zone coverage and obviously they’re gonna move and blitz, the things everyone does. It goes back to us doing what we need to do. Be efficient, balanced, have explosive plays, win the line of scrimmage, get the ball to our playmakers, give CJ time to do what he needs to do in the passing game.”
The Wolfpack offensive line will look for a bounce back against Campbell as quarterback CJ Bailey was sacked five times against the Hokies.
“I felt like we lost the line of scrimmage enough in that game to prevent us from being efficient on offense,” Doeren said. “There were a lot of negative yardage plays, pressure on CJ that we did not manage well. We had five sacks, in two of those we felt like he could have thrown the football away and didn’t.”
The Wolfpack and Camels are set to meet at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, Oct 4. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.