RALEIGH — The NC State Wolfpack delivered a statement win to end their two-game skid, defeating No. 8 Georgia Tech 48-36 Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium.
It was the first top-10 win for Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack since 2021 (27-21 win over No. 9 Clemson) and it was also the first loss of the season for a previously undefeated Yellow Jackets squad.
“It’s special when you have a top-10 win at home,” Doeren said. “Night games at the Carter are so special and I’m just proud of this team. Resiliency is what this place is about. It’s why I’ve always loved NC State. It’s definitely a part of my DNA and the harder it gets, sometimes I think the better we are. We’re going to enjoy this one tonight.”
The Wolfpack was propelled to victory on the night by its offense, which totaled nearly 600 yards and scored on eight of its 10 drives.
“Our mindset on offense was just to try and score every drive,” said sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey. “Every time we touched the ball, that was the mindset and throughout the whole week, that was our plan.”
It was a really good bounce back game overall for Bailey, who threw for 340 yards and two scores with no interceptions and picked up another 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well.
“CJ played like a captain,” Doeren said. “He was in charge and played really, really good ball.”
NC State’s offense also had one of their best nights of the season without some of their biggest names as both running back Hollywood Smothers and tight end Justin Joly were out with injuries.
Notably, though, a few key pieces stepped up for the Pack.
Freshman Duke Scott, who took on starting running back duties, dominated the Yellow Jackets, with 196 yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts.
Scott broke free for big runs multiple times, with his biggest coming in the third quarter when he rumbled off for 69 yards.
“Duke Scott had a phenomenal game,” Doeren said. “But I’m not surprised at all. We thought we could run the football on them and Duke’s way faster than people know. We have a really good tandem in that backfield and tonight, he had to step up and take on the entire load and obviously he did a tremendous job.”
Senior tight ends Dante Daniels and Cody Hardy also had a good night, with Hardy getting the team’s first touchdown of the night and each picking up key yardage.
“Our tight ends, that room… the way they played without Justin was impressive,’ Doeren said. “They really stepped up and had to do more things than they normally do.”
“Kids come to this program hoping for the opportunity to play,” Doeren said. “And when it’s your opportunity, you have to seize it. It says a lot about all these guys. We don’t quit here. It’s not a part of this program and it never will be.”
Defensively, things weren’t as pretty for the Wolfpack, as the team gave up 559 total yards, including over 400 through the air.
The defense has been the biggest black eye for NC State all season, but tonight the offense was able to overcome those shortcomings.
“That’s a tough offense,” Doeren said. “Brent [Key] is a great coach and that is a really good football team. I have nothing but respect for him and his staff. Buster Faulkner, his offensive coordinator, is, I think, one of the best in the country and their quarterback is a really good player. So that was a hard fought game.”
But even with the defense’s flaws, it still had a few key moments where they forced Georgia Tech to settle for a few field goals.
“The defense did enough to give our offense possessions and field position where they could go score,” Doeren said.
And to cap it off, it was senior linebacker Caden Fordham, who came through with his first career interception to end the game and seal the big win for the Wolfpack, ushering in hundreds of fans onto the turf at Carter-Finley for a well earned field storm.
“It’s awesome, especially winning a game like that,” said Caeden Fordham. “Being in the Carter tonight, it was special. It was amazing to go out there and do that with my brothers.”
NC State now heads into its final bye week, where they’ll hopefully be able to get a few more guys healthy, before another huge game against a top-10 opponent in the Miami Hurricanes.
