The 2025 campaign represented the perfect encapsulation of NC State football under head coach Dave Doeren.

The Wolfpack experienced the highs of winning a fifth-straight game over rival North Carolina, the heartbreak of losing to ACC champion Duke, before dramatically closing the year with eight wins in classic Doeren fashion. The 8-5 record marks Doeren’s fifth time in the last six seasons with at least eight wins.

“It was a very Dave Doeren year,” said Joe Ovies, co-founder of OG Triangle Media. “I don’t mean that in a bad way… Something that Dave Doeren has done an excellent job of is making the most out of a program that is decidedly middle class in the college football landscape.”

Doeren’s consistency shouldn’t be overlooked. While Doeren didn’t break through for an ACC championship this season, he proved that he can still captain the ship through rocky waters. In a year where expectations were modest, resources were limited and challenges were plentiful, Doeren guided the Wolfpack to a respectable finish.

“I think that this program has a reputation for fighting through and really being emblematic of hard and tough and together,” said Matt Chazanow, play-by-play announcer for NC State football. “The back end of this year and that finish to get to eight wins and do what he’s been doing for a long time now speaks to that ability to do what is the hardest thing, which is to be consistent.”

The resounding theme of the 2025 season was resilience. Staying true to the Pack’s mantra of “Hard. Tough. Together.”, NC State battled through significant adversity on and off the field. Suffering agonizing losses to Duke and Virginia Tech in the first half of the season, many teams would have crumbled.

Yet NC State kept battling.

“I think Dave deserves a lot more credit for his ability to scramble and get teams together when it looks like it’s gonna unravel,” Ovies said. “These forks in the road, one thing Dave has consistently done well, and I think he deserves a hell of a lot of credit for, is he’s found ways to go on the right side of that fork.”

However, the losses were only one layer of adversity.

Injuries riddled NC State all season, forcing several inexperienced players to see the field early. The defense was especially hurt by injuries, yet players like freshmen safety Tristan Teasdell and freshman Josiah Victor stepped up.

“I thought they did a really nice job of figuring out, in spite of these just bizarre injury luck, how to win games,” Chazanow said. “Coach [Doeren] mentioned they had a lot of young guys out there… They got better fast.”

The toughest adversity NC State faced this season came off the field when defensive coordinator DJ Eliot’s daughter passed away after a battle with cancer.

“You hear about what’s going on with coach Eliot, it’s not really about football anymore,” Chazanow said. “You’re just thinking about all things that are more important, especially now as a father.”

Persevering through that adversity, NC State rallied in the back half of the season. Winning four of its final five games, including a victory over No. 8 Georgia Tech, the Wolfpack found a way to end the season on a high note. The Wolfpack also continued its winning streaks against Florida State and North Carolina before ending the season with a bowl victory.

“I think it’s great to get into the offseason with a win, getting to eight wins however you get there,” Chazanow said. “As the sands of time move on and details fade away, you look back and you see eight, and I think that matters.”

Among the Wolfpack’s many players that stepped up to the challenge this year, sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey stands out. In his first full season as a starter, Bailey became the first NC State QB to throw for over 3000 yards since Devin Leary in 2021. The growth in Bailey’s game gave the Pack an anchor for the offense to build around for the first time in years.

“When he’s on, he’s as good as any QB in the ACC,” Chazanow said. “When you’re the guy, it’s very different from when you’re coming in, not no expectations, but he wasn’t really supposed to be starting as a freshman, and then this past year, when he’s right, he really throws a lot of darts.”

Bailey’s story is one of many examples within the NC State program of battling through less-than-ideal circumstances. After getting thrown into the fire as a freshman last season, Bailey emerged as a stronger quarterback — symbolic of the Wolfpack program’s gritty DNA.

Reaching eight wins for the Pack this season was not a small feat. When most would give up, NC State fought and clawed its way through the season to achieve a record that Wolfpack fans can be proud of.