Wolfpack wilt against Virginia Tech. What we learned from NC State’s ACC loss
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Virginia Tech defense disrupted N.C. State's offense with 5 sacks and 8 TFLs.
- Wolfpack rushed for season-low 59 yards and managed just 299 total yards.
- Special teams issues continued as N.C. State allowed 85 return yards on kicks.
The past two meetings between N.C. State and Virginia Tech were decided by a combined eight points. But between the offensive firepower, home field advantage and Virginia Tech’s struggles this season, it felt like a chance for the Wolfpack to cruise to a win.
Except that’s not at all what happened, as Virginia Tech posted a 23-21 ACC win at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night.
The Hokies provided one of the Wolfpack offense’s toughest tests this season, completely stifling the run game and dominating the offensive line.
Virginia Tech, under the direction of interim head coach Philip Montgomery, did not look like the same squad that lost to Old Dominion at home. The Hokies offense rolled against the Wolfpack defense, while holding the N.C. State offense to its fewest offensive yards of the season.
“They have had a rough start, but they’re not going to lay down and just give up,” tight end Cody Hardy said this week. “We’ve got to be ready for anything and everything and play it like it’s the biggest game of our life.”
The Hokies (2-3) gave the Wolfpack (3-2, 1-2 ACC) a run for its money and picked up its first FBS win of the season.
Virginia Tech took an early 3-0 lead after a 39-yard field goal, but N.C. State responded on the subsequent drive. After methodically marching down the field, quarterback CJ Bailey found Dante Daniels in the end zone for the tight end’s first catch of the season.
At the end of the first quarter, Virginia Tech only had 53 yards of total offense. It responded with a 62-yard scoring drive, more than doubling its offensive output, to start the second. Quarterback Kyron Drones found Marcellous Hawkins for an 11-yard third-down touchdown reception.
The Wolfpack opened the second half with a much-needed scoring drive. Bailey looked more decisive, picking up 58 passing yards, with tight end Justin Joly and wide receiver Keenan Jackson making major contributions. Joly grabbed a 17-yard reception to move the chains and Jackson hauled in the 13-yard touchdown catch, his second of the season, at the far side of the end zone.
Virginia Tech, however, continued to put pressure on N.C. State, and the Wolfpack could never get into a rhythm.
Bailey’s final pass of the night was a fourth-down incompletion under pressure to Joly, leading to a turnover on downs and N.C. State’s second straight loss.
The sophomore finished 26 of 34 passing with 240 yards and two touchdowns.
“I take that on myself. I got to make that catch,” Joly said. “If you want to point fingers at anybody, point fingers at me. It’s not CJ’s fault. It’s not [Kurt] Roper’s fault. It’s not the defensive. If you need someone to be mad at. It’s my fault. I should make that catch. My team trusts me to make that catch. My coaches do, and I gotta make that catch. That one’s on me. I’m sorry, y’all.”
Drones led the Hokies with a 20-of-34 passing performance for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“We really gotta keep our heads up, maintain the good energy that we have within the facility, and just come back stronger,” Joly said. “I know people are so tired of hearing that. I know I’m tired of hearing it too, because we just gotta win games. That’s what people expect us to do. We just gotta get back on track.”
Here’s what we learned from the Wolfpack’s home loss.
Virgina Tech wins line of scrimmage
While N.C. State’s offensive line hasn’t been perfect this season, it entered the game doing a decent job protecting Bailey from contact and opening up seams for the running attack. Virginia Tech’s defensive front won the line of scrimmage and significantly stifled the Wolfpack’s offensive efforts.
Bailey jumped out to a strong start, completing his first nine passes for 77 yards and one touchdown, but things unraveled in the second quarter.
The Hokies went into halftime with a 13-7 lead, courtesy of four sacks, five tackles for loss and one quarterback pressure. All four sacks came in the second quarter.
Additionally, the offensive line could not get the run game going in the first half. N.C. State ended the first half averaging 3.3 yards per rush, when adjusted for sacks. At one point, that number was as low as 2.4 yards per rush. Star running back Hollywood Smothers was held to 36 yards on nine carries during that span.
The offensive line fared better in the second half, but it was still overpowered at times.
Virginia Tech finished with five sacks, eight tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
N.C. State’s run game never found its footing, either. The Pack ended its night with a season-low 299 total yards. It rushed for 59 rushing yards — 3.4 yards per carry — also a season low.
On the opposite side, N.C. State couldn’t stop the run. It gave up 229 rushing yards, with Terion Stewart accounting for 174.
“They won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football in that game,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said. “That’s not indicative of our football team, and hasn’t been this year, but that was the tale of the game.”
Special teams still struggles
The Wolfpack special teams unit has struggled this season, notably in its ability to stop returns, and those issues flared up again on Saturday.
N.C. State could not stop Virginia Tech, giving up 69 yards on three kickoff returns. It allowed 16 yards on punt returns, as well.
This comes one week after its outing at Duke in which the special teams squad muffed a punt return, committed a penalty on a Blue Devils punt, had a field goal blocked and missed an extra point.
“The fake punt was a positive. I thought our kickoff coverage improved. Outside of that, it was not a performance that I hope to ever see again,” Doeren said on Monday.
Things weren’t quite as bad overall, but the kickoff coverage seemed to take a step back. Doeren said he trusts special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel — Goebbel has deserved that trust, too — but there’s plenty of room for improvement.
N.C. State’s kickoff and punt returners have provided consistent kicking, and they need help from the guys in coverage. They’re making things more difficult than they need to be.
Punting prowress
Speaking of punting, Caden Noonkester did everything he could to provide the defense with favorable field position, but it wasn’t enough. The redshirt senior led the special teams effort with five punts for 259 yards.
His outing included a 66-yard punt that was one-yard shy of his career high and put the Hokies on their own 4-yard line. He also had two inside the 20-yard line and another for at least 50 yards.
Noonkester entered the game averaging 44.8 yards per punt — a yard better than his 2024 average — and will now move to 46.8 yards per attempt after his outing.
The fifth-year deserves more credit for flipping the field, especially against the Hokies, when his efforts kept the Wolfpack in the game.
“He’s a weapon when he kicks the ball like that,” Doeren said. “That’s what you expect out of a guy that’s punted as long as he has for us and operation.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2025 at 10:44 PM.
